Love Shouldn't Feel This Way
by WickedOne1
Summary: A young girl gets pulled into Hyrule while playing OoT...Status: *complete*
1. Chapter 1

Okay people, this is my first fic EVER, so please be nice! I got the idea from other authors who have written stories according to this theme, and to all those out there who gave me inspiration, thank you! 

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, blah blah blah, or any of the characters in it. I do, however, own Arden.

~Love Shouldn't Feel This Way~

*Arden*  
  
I sighed, and turned on the television. I took a seat on my plush couch, sinking down into its deep blue cushions. The house was so quiet. I've never felt so alone before. I grabbed my grey N64 controller, and switched the power button on. The familiar start-up screen for Zelda, Ocarina of Time appeared across the screen, and the soothing music started. As I started playing the game, I realized how wonderful it would be to be there along with Link and all the other Hylians, free to roam, without such harsh cares in the world. As I played, I must have been drifting in and out of sleep, because a small purple swirl appeared in the middle of my T.V. screen. I shot up out of my chair, and tried to rub it off, but it kept on growing and growing. Something was sucking me inside, and before I knew it, I was in some sort of a swirling portal. That's the last thing I remember before I saw green grass, then darkness.  
  
When I awoke, it was so dark out; I couldn't make out where exactly I was. Man, that was a weird dream. I must have fallen off the couch and hit my head or something, which would explain my pounding head. I moved my hands out from underneath me, to push myself up, but what I felt wasn't the cold wood floor of my room. It was grass…grass and dirt. I sat up, and saw the moon as it emerged from behind the dark clouds. I tried to get up as I saw a figure on a horse riding towards me. I got up and broke out into a run, a swaggering run. (Gimmie a break, I hit my head, and it still hurt!) Although I was on the track team at school, I knew I couldn't outrun this horse, and before I knew it, whoever was on that horse hit me on the back of the head with something extremely hard. Then came the blackness again.  
  
When I awoke again, it was daylight. It didn't seem like I was in the same place I was before; it was a kinder, friendlier place. I sat up, and looked around. I was at the edge of a quiet river, and close by was a castle. I could see up ahead a flight of stairs, and to the right of me some sort of a ledge. The place seemed familiar…too familiar. This place looked like it was out of my Nintendo game, the OoT game...but it couldn't be. This was the weirdest dream I've ever experienced. So I stood up, and began to try to think of ways to get home. I walked up to a nearby tree, and took comfort in its shade. That comfort only lasted about 4 seconds, because a guy jumped down out of the tree, right in front of me. He scared the shit out of me, and to make things worse, he pulled out a mean-looking sword, and held it up to my neck. I backed up against the tree, but he persisted. Tears were forming at the corners of my eyes. This wasn't a dream; it was a nightmare. The worst I've ever had.  
  
"Who are you?!" the man screamed, pushing the blade against my skin. I whimpered. "Who are you?!" he repeated, his blue eyes clouded over with hatred. A single tear dropped from my right eye.  
  
"Please don't kill me," I whispered. "I don't want to die." My heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. For some reason, he dropped the sword, and backed off. My knees collapsed, and I slid down the tree, sitting on the ground.  
  
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" the man persisted, pacing back and forth in front of me. He looked just like...no...it couldn't be him...Link? What the fuck was this about? What happened to me? Have I really lost my mind?!  
  
"I...I don't know...I.." he cut me off rudely and abruptly.  
  
"You don't know who you are? Come on! I've had it up to here with strangers entering Hyrule, trying to hurt the innocent and take over. Like Ganondorf wasn't enough!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Hyrule? Gannondorf?! Then this was Link! and I was in Hyrule!   
  
I was in deep, deep trouble.  
  
"Listen," I said, standing up, and backing away from the Link-like man, "I don't know how I got here, but I don't intend on hurting anyone, and I certainly don't want to take over! The only one here that seems like they want to hurt anyone is you," I said, crossing my arms, and turning away from him. I was trapped inside a video game. How horrible and ridiculous was that?! I couldn't just tell him that his whole life was pre-programmed, poor guy, even though less than a minute ago he was going to kill me.  
  
"Where are you from?" he asked again. I knew he wasn't going to let me leave until I told him something.   
  
"I came...well…far away from here. I'm not going to hurt anyone, and I don't believe my business should be any of yours." I began to walk away, slowly, half-hoping he would stop me. Sure, he was kind-of goofy looking in the game, but now, in non-animated, real life, he was cute. Real cute.  
  
"You must have come really really far away from here!" he said, somewhat cheerily. I turned around, facing him. His head was cocked to one side, and his eyes were darting all over the place. I didn't know what he was so fascinated with, and I could feel my face blushing. He took a few steps closer towards me. "Do all women dress like that where you come from?" he asked, a devilish grin appearing on his face. I looked down. It then dawned on me what he was smiling at. Of course! In the game, all women wore long dresses, and here I guess I must have been considered to be "scantily clad." I had a tanktop on and shorts. (Come on! It was summertime back…well…in the real world, and I was eighteen! Gimmie a gosh darn break for wanting guys to look at me! And it didn't help that my tanktop was my smallest, tightest one I owned, and that I had my favorite push-up bra on. Since my parents were off on a 3-month vacation, I was free to dress however I wanted. But anyways...)  
  
"Well, definitely not all women, because if the really old ones did, it would be really nasty, especially if my mom dressed like this, but," the guy was chuckling. I shut my mouth...I had tendencies to go off on tangents when the occasion called for it.  
  
"What about your ears?" he asked, still moving closer. He pushed my hair off my neck, exposing my ears. "I've never seen such small, oddly-shaped ears," he said, his obvious curiosity growing.   
  
"Well, where I come from, all ears look like these," I said, shyly. "But what about you? I've never, ever seen ears like yours!"  
  
"Everyone around here has ears like this," he said, letting go of my hair. He started walking towards the castle, and I followed him.  
  
"You're not going to believe this," I said, running up besides him, "but I have no idea of how I got here. I don't know how far away from home I actually am, and how I'm ever going to get back. I've never been so scared in my entire life." He stopped walking.  
  
"And my dramatic act probably didn't help matters much, either," he said, embarrassedly.  
  
"No, actually, you scared the shit out of me," I said, sighing.  
  
"Well, let me tell you that I am really, truly, and very sorry. It's just that seeing the sky turn red and rip open at midnight really didn't make me feel good inside, and investigating, usually by brute force, is just standard procedure. I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about that, too." I smiled.  
  
"It's alright, I understand." I said. "My name's Arden," I said, holding out my hand.  
  
"I'm Link," he said, looking at my hand strangely. I felt like an idiot just holding it out there.  
  
"Aren't you going to shake my hand?" I asked. I hated being dissed.  
  
"Shake?"   
  
"Yeah, like this," I said, taking his hand. I gave him a firm handshake, then let it go. "It's a sign of friendship or respect when you first meet someone," I said meekly. "Well, it is where I come from, anyways."  
  
"Well, you're in Hyrule now. Things are different here." he said, starting to walk again.  
  
"That's for sure," I mumbled. "Well, Link, what exactly do you do here in Hyrule?" I asked, slowly. I felt so dizzy, and my head was throbbing. But I kept on going.  
  
"Me? Oh, the usual stuff. Protect the innocent, kill the bad guy, save the day, y'know how it is," he said with a shrug.  
  
"No, actually I have no idea."  
  
"Occasionally I get to rescue the damsel in distress," he said, grinning.  
  
"I wouldn't be in distress if it wasn't for---" I collapsed, again. As I was looking up at the sky, stars began to circle my head. I giggled.  
  
"Oh my goddesses," Link said, dropping to my side. I could see his face…so pretty...tee-hee.   
  
"Look, Link, a spotted elephant!" I said as a tiny purple-spotted elephant danced in the air above me. I could feel something sharp in my back. I felt hot blood seeping out from under me.  
  
"Arden? Are you alright?!" he asked. I smiled.  
  
"Of course I..." I then realized what was going on. "Oh, God, the pain," I said, holding my head as I turned on my side into the fetal position. "It hurts.." I said, whimpering. That's the last thing I remember before he picked me up.


	2. Chapter 2

A big "thank-you" to Songwind for reviewing my story!!!! At least someone cares…heh heh. Alright, here's chapter 2! (Oh, btw, I hope you all can understand the switches in points-of-view between Link and Arden. I'm a spaz, I know, but I can't do anything about it)

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or anyone in it. 

I opened my eyes and gagged. Whatever was being waved under my nose was disgusting. I moaned, and looked around. Link and some weird-looking lady was standing over me.  
  
"Are you alright now?" he asked. He looked worried. Well, it was his fault I got hurt again. Anger swept over me.  
  
"Am I okay?" I screeched. "Am I okay?! First, I get zapped to this weird world, scared out of my mind. Then I get attacked by this warrior on horseback. When I finally wake up and think I'm safe, I get attacked AGAIN by the same warrior, and nearly get killed when he holds a massive sword against my neck! Then, after my life flashes before my eyes, I start to go again, and I collapse from the wound I received earlier on the back of the head from that Goddamned warrior. To top that off, I must have landed on something sharp, because I'm bandaged up! And you ask if I'm alright. Of course I'm not!" I was furious. All I wanted to do was go home.   
  
"Shhhh, quiet," the hag said.   
  
"Don't tell me to be quiet!" I yelled. I noticed that my shirt was off. Thank God they didn't remove my bra. Perverts. I grabbed my shirt and stumbled to my feet. "Listen, ma'am, thank you very much for treating me. I'll--"  
  
"The one you should thank is this young man over here. If it wasn't for him, you could be dead right now," she said, cackling. I turned to face Link. He was smiling haughtily, and had his arms crossed over his chest. I pulled my tanktop on, bloodstains and all. I shot a fake smile at him.  
  
"Well, anyways, how much do you want?" I asked the woman, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket. I always kept it there, but never had an actual use for it. Funny how things turn out. "Fifty? Seventy-five?" I asked, shuffling through my cash. I pulled out the whole wad. My 'rents were loaded. Which would explain their disappearance off the face of the earth for three months. They went to Aruba or something. Heh, not like I was paying attention when they were talking to me. But having the whole house to myself the whole summer sounded cool, so I let them go without any hassles.  
  
"What kind of joke is this?" Link asked rudely, pulling my money out of my hands.  
  
"Joke? Who's laughing?" I snapped, grabbing my bills back. "Lady, name your price. My folks aren't short on cash."  
  
"Cash?" she asked. Then I realized what the "joke" was. I sighed. I was in "Hyrule" now, and they had rupees, not dollars. Ha Ha, the joke's on me, then.   
  
"You...this isn't your currency, is it?" I asked sheepishly, shoving it back into my wallet. I pushed it into my back pocket again, and as I did, moved the wound. It stung like fire.  
  
"No," they said simultaneously. I sighed again.  
  
"Then I have nothing to give you. I'm sorry." Link pulled out some sort of a bag and placed some rupees on the counter. As he did this, he grinned devilishly at me. Good-for-nothing bastard.  
  
"It's apparently been taken care of," the hag said, greedily counting the money. Link shot me another haughty smile. I was livid, but I didn't show it.  
  
"Thank you...both. I'll be on my way now," I said, jerking around. That was stupid. _Bleep _that _bleeping _wound. I grasped my side, and walked out of the door.   
  
*Link*   
The hag turned to me.  
  
"You keep an eye on her." she said.   
  
"I can't take my eyes off her," I retorted with a smile.  
  
"She's a pip, all right, but she got a good soul. I can feel it."   
  
"Well, thank you," I said, and walked out. She was at the bottom of the stairs, looking for and exit. Thank the goddesses this back area was fenced in. I took a deep breath, and jumped down in front of her.  
  
"You just love to do that, don't you?!" she exclaimed, jumping backwards. I grinned. I don't know what came over me when I saw her, but my ego seemed to grow every time I opened my mouth. "Well, whatever." She started to leave again.  
  
"Wait!" I said as she headed up the stairs to the other potion shop.  
  
"What?!" she snapped, turning around. My, she was good-looking when she was angry.  
  
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" I asked, running up to her.  
  
"Well...I...no, but," she stuttered.   
  
"Exactly," I said, very content with my quick thinking.  
  
*Arden*  
I had to think of something real fast.   
  
"Well then, I guess you're going to have to stay with me until I find my way home." I sighed, because I knew staying with him was the only way I was going to survive here. He was so cocky…I couldn't stand it. He opened the door for me and moved his hand as to say "ladies first", and almost slapped my ass. He sighed.  
  
"Are people where you're from always this boring?" he asked with a yawn.  
  
"Hey, you brought this upon yourself," I said. "If you hadn't hurt me, you wouldn't be dealing with me now."  
  
"Well, I guess I could use a companion or something. Can you fight?" he asked, heading out of the front of the store. I couldn't believe it. It looked the same as the game, exactly down to the bushes on the ground.   
  
"I can fight," I said, grinning evily.  
  
"Yeah, but can you use a sword and shield?" he asked, skeptical.  
  
"I had fencing at the prep," I replied quickly. "Er...yeah, I've been in a sword fight a couple of times."  
  
"What about a bow and arrow?" I thought about that horrid target practice at camp when I was a kid.  
  
"Uh, yeah, sort-of," I replied, sitting down on the ledge. "Hey, do you think I could get some clothes, so I don't, y'know, stick out?"  
  
"Hmm," he said. "Sure thing. We can get you clothes cheap here, in Kakariko. But if you want some good weapons, we can go to the Bazaar in Castle Town to get you some weapons. They have a better selection than the one here."  
  
"Great," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Come on," he said, walking towards a shop in the middle of the village. "This used to be a shooting gallery, but they ran out of business. They sell mostly clothing now." We walked in, and it smelled horribly of mothballs. He talked to the man behind the counter, and he went in the back. He came out with two tunics.  
  
"Here you go, Arden. I picked you out blue because I figured you'd look good in blue," Link said, arrogantly. I grabbed them and stood there.  
  
"I'm not going to change in front of you two," I said, raising my voice. "This definitely NOT going to turn into a peep show!"  
  
"Oh," the owner said, "you can change in the back." I went into the back room, and put the first tunic on. It was massive, and it hung off my body. I walked out.  
  
"Do I really look that big to you?" I exclaimed as I stormed out into the front. Link cracked up. I punched him across the face.  
  
"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the red mark that I had left there. I turned on my heels and went in the back to change again.  
  
*Link*  
"Tough love?" the shop owner asked me, chuckling.  
  
"Hell no," I retorted, rubbing my jaw. "We're not in love at all." The man gave me a funny look. Arden emerged from the back, wearing the other tunic and carrying the rest of the clothing. She placed the enormous tunic on the counter, folded, and held onto her own clothing. My goddess, she looked…well...hot. The white leggings were tight against her skin, and her blue tunic was belted around her small waistline. She didn't have any shoes on.  
  
"Here are some boots for you to try on," the shopkeeper said, putting a pair of boots that looked similar to my own on the counter. She pulled them on, and they fit. She got matching brown gloves with the fingers cut out of, like mine, and put them on. "Now you two look like a perfect pair," the shopkeeper said, smiling.  
  
"What?!" she exclaimed. I cut her off before she got us into trouble.  
  
"Thank you very much," I said, placing two purple rupees down on the table, then led her outside quickly.  
  
*Arden*  
I felt like a doofus in this outfit.  
  
"Listen, Link, I don't know what you're thinking, but we're definitely not a couple," I said, turning away from his stare.  
  
"No kidding," he scoffed, crossing his arms. He jumped down off the ledge instead of taking the stairs, like I did.  
  
"Right, so, now that I look like a Hylian...or whatever…where are we going again?" He was walking towards the way we came in, and very quickly at that.  
  
"Castle Town," he said without turning around. I ran to catch up to him.   
  
"We have to walk?" I asked, in my best whining voice.   
  
"Well, it's not far at all. So stop complaining," he said, quickening his pace. I had to nearly jog to keep up.  
  
"I wasn't complaining," I said. I love picking fights.  
  
"Yes you were."  
  
"No I wasn't."  
  
"Yes, you definitely were."  
  
"Do you wanna fight about it?!" I asked sternly, inside secretly smiling. He drew his sword and held it up to my neck. Seeing that I didn't have any weapons yet, I decided to let this one go. "You win," I said, cowering away. Cocky good-for-nothing ass.  
  
"Do us both a favor and, just, don't talk for a while, okay?" he said, putting his sword away. I sighed and continued walking. I thought about my couch in my room. Jeez, what I wouldn't give to be back there again! So much better than sitting on the ground or on hard wooden benches...  
We walked across a small bridge and then over a drawbridge. It was just like the game...so incredibly weird. We walked through the   
"town" (poor word choice) and there were crowds of people everywhere. All the men tipped their hats at Link and all the young girls giggled and smiled at him. I didn't get too many smiles from them, however. They probably were jealous, heh heh heh. Well, at least I got some respect from the men. Link headed over to where the "Bazaar" was located in the game, and it looked exactly the same. This was too weird.  
  
"Hiya, Jorge," Link said to the ugly man behind the counter. He looked like a caveman barbarian.   
  
"Hey there, Hero of Time. Gotta new girlfriend?" he asked. I sighed. Link started laughing.  
  
"No. Not at all." He turned to me. "What do you want?" I thought for a second. Mase would be nice…  
  
"Do you have any mase?" I asked the man. He went behind the counter and pulled up a massive weapon, y'know, the kind you see with the knights in shining armor? The enormous spiked ball swayed back and forth ominously. "That's not the exact type of mase I was talking about," I said. He shrugged, and put it back.  
  
"Can you get her a bow and quiver?" Link asked the shop keeper. He turned around and pulled one down off of the shelf. I slung it on my back, like the way Link's looked.  
  
"Seeing as you're the Hero of Time's girlfriend and all, I might be able to give you a Goron-crafted sword for dirt cheap," he said, smiling.  
  
"Listen, buddy, I'm not--" Link elbowed me, right in my wound. I cringed, and doubled over. He put his arm around me.  
  
"Show us the way," he said, dragging me along behind the portly man. In the back there were swords hanging up on the wall. There was one in particular that caught my eye, one with a medium-sized blade and sapphires above its blue handle. He pulled that one down off the wall, and handed it to me. I liked the weight. After swinging it around a couple of times, I was totally in love with it.  
  
"I could definitely get used to this!" I exclaimed gleefully, handing the sword back to the man.  
  
"Hmm...swords are a lot of money, especially this one. But I'll give it to you for...350 rupees. 250 if you let me spend the night with her," he said, grinning at me. I was mortified. I looked at Link, eyes pleading.  
  
"Oh my God, Link, please, no," I cried, grasping his arm. I looked into his deep blue eyes. He grinned. I could tell he loved seeing me plead, knowing that he had complete control over what I did and didn't do.  
  
"I'll pay 350," Link said, ripping the sword from his hands. I let a big sigh of relief emit from my lips.  
  
"Fine," the pig said, leading us back to the front.  
  
"Gimmie a Hylian shield and another bag, too," Link said, taking out his money again.  
  
"That comes to 530, with the shield, sword, bag, bow and quiver," he said. Link placed the exact amount on the table, and I quickly led the way out.  
  
"What the fuck was that?!" I exclaimed as we shut the door. "'Spend the night with her?'" Link shrugged.  
  
"A lot of guys think they're superior to women. Most Hylians do," he said, handing me my gear. I took it, greatfully, and put it on. Man, that stuff was heavy.  
  
"You...you don't think women are inferior, do you?" I asked him, in all honesty.  
  
"No. I think women are beautiful creatures and should be treated with kindness and respect." I smiled. That was sweet; you've got to admit. "They are definitely equal to men."  
  
"Oh, that's so wonderful," I said, almost dreamily. Link smiled. 

Alright, that's chapter 2. Chapter 3 will be up soon enough...(after I finish writing it, of course.) Well, I'm off to work on a report. Thanks again, Songwind, for being the ONLY ONE to review. (And I said please, too!)   
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Hello again everyone! I finally got around to writing a third chapter. I also upped the font a few sizes so you won't have to strain your eyes as hard to read the story.

Disclaimer: I know you all think I own Zelda. I don't. :0(

Er…Link and Arden had finished getting clothed and geared-up, and had finally agreed on something (that's probably a first, and a last).

"So we finally agree on something?" he asked. I nodded. "The only women I can't see myself respecting are the Gerudos, those thieves. Their leader, Nabooru, it alright, but the rest of them would slit your throat in a split second." I shuddered.  
  
"So now what?" I asked, kicking pebbles underneath my feet. Link shrugged. I looked down at my hands, which were caked with dirt. "Can I take a shower?"   
  
"A shower?" he asked. "The only showers we get are when it rains." I mentally slapped myself.  
  
"Don't you people bathe?!" I exclaimed, following him outside of town. We walked back out into Hyrule field.  
  
"Sure I bathe!" Link said, laughing. "I went swimming in Lake Hylia last week!" I stood there, blinking.  
  
"I guess that'll have to do," I said, sighing. "Is there any possible way we could get there before sundown?"  
  
"Sure," Link said. He whipped out his ocarina. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He played Epona's song, but it sounded much better. It wasn't fake sounding, like in the game. We heard a neigh off in the distance, and soon, a beautiful horse raced towards us.  
  
"Link, she's beautiful," I said, approaching the animal slowly. She reared when I got closer, and I ducked out of the way for cover. Damnit, I should have known to be more careful. I pushed myself up off the ground, and turned around to a laughing Link.  
  
"Oh yeah, be careful," he said, inbetween laughs.  
  
"Gee, thanks for the warning," I said sarcastically, brushing myself off. Jerk. But I should have known, because I have played the game before. He walked over to Epona and calmed her down. He took my arm, forcefully, and put my hand on Epona's back. She still seemed uneasy; maybe as much as me, but at I continued to stroke her mane, we both became more at ease. Link, realizing this, mounted Epona quickly, and pulled me up with a jerk.  
  
"Ow, jeez, man, that killed," I said, grabbing my side. "Could you PLEASE be more careful and considerate? Do you not remember that I have a deep gash on my side?!"  
  
*Link*  
I cringed.   
"Sorry," I said. "I forgot." I really should be more careful with a lady and all. But the only experience I've had with women was carrying around Ruto and occasionally talking to Zelda, Saria, and Malon. Navi doesn't really count, because, well, all I can see of her is a blue glowing light. I shouldn't have to apologize, though; I have to deal with wounds all the time! But maybe she wasn't used to pain...  
  
"Can we go? Or are we going to just sit here all night?" she said from behind me. I pressed my heels into Epona and we lurched into motion. She apparently wasn't expecting it, because I felt her hands grasp my sides. "You alright?" I asked, turning my head a bit to catch a glimpse of her face. 

"Yeah, of course I'm fine," she answered.

"Alright then," I said. I lead Epona towards the south, then went full force into a gallop. I heard Arden gasp, and then she clenched me tighter. She had her arms wrapped around my entire waist, hands clasped, and I could feel her head pressing against my back. I smiled. Her warmth felt so nice; her grip around me almost comforting. I had the greatest urge to take the reins in one hand, and hold her trembling hands with the other. What was I saying?! This girl was rude and obnoxious, loud and wild. Then why did I keep feeling these things? And why do I keep envisioning me holding her close?

As we continued to ride, she seemed to relax a bit, and loosened her grasp on my sides. I could feel her lifting her head up to see all that was around us. To me it was the same-old, boring Hyrule field, but to Arden, it must have been exciting. Maybe. I wonder where she came from, though. It seems weird that she just dropped from the sky one day, even for me. I've seen some pretty weird things in my day, but it must be worse for her. Oh well. 

"Hold on!" I said as we approached the two fences that separated Lake Hylia and Hyrule field. She went back into the position she was before, and gripped me even tighter as we jumped each fence. We had safely made it to the lake, and the sun was just beginning to set. I stopped Epona, but Arden didn't let go. "Okay, we're here, you can quit freaking out now," I said, chuckling to myself. She let go of her grasp.

"Oh." That's all she said. So I jumped off Epona, and turned to help her, but she was already off. "Wow, this place is beautiful," she said, walking towards the laboratory, then to the bridge. "Where's a good place to go swimming?" she asked. I thought a minute.

"C'mon, I'll show you," I said, leading Epona across the bridges. I finally stopped at the island with the enormous tree, and stopped. "Here is good. The water is deep, and it's dark as well if you want to bathe."

"Okay, good," she said. I stood there, watching her, to see what she was going to do next. "Well, turn around!" she exclaimed as she began to take her weapons and armor off. I blushed, and turned around. I heard her unbuckle her belt and the sounds of clothes hitting the ground, and then I heard the splash. Now that she was out of view, I turned around. Her weapons were in a pile, and so were her clothes. If she was so obsessed with cleanliness, and if I was going to be spending time with her, I decided it would be a good idea to take a dip as well. Well, not until I tortured her a bit, heh heh.

"Oh, by the way," I said, walking towards the edge, "I forgot to tell you about what lives in the lake."

"What?!" she exclaimed in reply. I held back my snickers and walked to the edge. I saw only her head sticking out of the water and her wet hair stuck to her head. She looked up at me with fearful eyes. I almost felt bad for the poor thing.

Almost.

"Yeah, at about this time of day the…uh…lake monsters start to appear."

"Gimmie a break," she said, moving closer to the edge.

"I'm not lying! They look like fish at first, but as they get closer, you can smell a horrible stench, and almost hear their screaming." The look on her face was priceless. Thanks to the Lakeside Laboratory, which dumps its failed experiments right before dark into the lake, we had some sort of a pungent smell permeating the area around us.

"Link, do you smell that?" she asked uneasily, spinning around frantically in the water. "Oh God, Link, something just grabbed my foot!" I couldn't control my laughter much longer. Soon she'd need my help getting out of the water, and, jackpot! Instant water-logged-girl-with-no-clothes-on! "Link, help!" she screamed. She quickly disappeared under the water. I couldn't see anything. I panicked.

"Arden?" I called out. "Arden!!" She wasn't anywhere to be found. I knew there wasn't anything in there that could hurt her! But why was she gone? She could be dead! I ripped off my weapons and jumped in the water after her. She was still nowhere to be found.

*Arden*

I laughed to myself as I heard him call out my name, then the kerplunk of his body hitting the water. I quietly snuck around to the other side of the tiny island and pulled myself up. I got dressed in a hurry and sat down on a rock to wait for him. This'll teach him not to mess with me! Trying to scare me, hah. I could see right through his lies. After about five more minutes of torture, I walked over to the ledge.

"Oh, Link!" I called out to the soggy, frantic man. He turned and looked up at me.

"Arden! You're alive!" he exclaimed, swimming to the shore.

"Yeah, y'know, those lake monsters aren't as scary up close," I said, chuckling.

"I…uh…I thought you were dead! I'm glad that…" he stopped talking as my laughing increased. The look on his face was indescribable. I had pulled one over on him, big time.

"I got you, man. I got you bad," I managed to get out inbetween laughs. He walked onto the island, and his clothes were soaked. He was a dripping mess, and I loved every minute of it.

"You! Oh, I can't believe I fell for…you bitch! I thought that you…oh goddesses!" He was raging, pacing back and forth, and that just added to my joy.

"Y'know, you twitch a little when you lie," I said, smiling. He blinked. "I could tell you were lying the whole time." He blushed.

"Alright, alright, you win this one," he said, moving closer to me. I cracked up again.

"I loved hearing you call frantically for me, like you actually cared for me. 'Arden! Arden! My sweet beautiful Arden what has happened to you?! What has my stupidity done to you this time?!'" 

"I didn't say any of that!" he exclaimed, inching closer to me. I backed up. I didn't wanna get close to him, he was all moist and droopy. 

"Yeah, but you were thinking it!" I retorted gleefully, bursting into fits of giggles as he began to chase me around.

"No I wasn't!" he replied. He was on my heels in an instant. Man, he was fast. Before I knew it, I was up in the air, over his head. He had lifted me up with both hands, and was moving towards the edge of the island. I got an idea of what he was planning.

"Oh no, Link, please don't, I'm sorry, I really am! Don't, no! Please!" My pleading was futile.

"Y'know, I really love to hear you beg." That's what he said before he dropped me over the side. The water seemed colder, and it was harder to stay afloat this time because I had my clothes on. When I surfaced, I climbed up the embankment, and stood there, arms crossed, facing a now laughing Link. Now we were both drenched. "That was great!" he exclaimed. "'Oh no, Link, please! Don't drop me! No! No! I'm a sissy, don't drop me!'" he said in his best, high-pitched voice. He was standing where I was before, and I walked up to him.

"Truce?" I asked, holding out my hand. He grabbed it.

"Truce!" he said, pushing my shoulder. I pushed him back. He pushed again, harder this time. I punched. He punched harder. So what did I do? I pushed that sucker back into the lake. Then I jumped in after him. "I thought we had a truce!" he exclaimed, swimming over to me. I splashed him in the face.

"Not anymore!" I answered, covering my face from the water now heading towards it. I attacked him, and pushed him under the water. He swam free, and pulled me under. We were fighting and kicking and yelling and screaming now. He had the upper hand, of course, Mr. Big Tough Warrior. But I fought him just the same. He had the knack of picking me up and throwing me down pat. It seemed like every ten seconds or so I felt his big, strong hands grip my waist, then toss me into oblivion. It was fun, though. I got on his back and gave him a super chokehold from hell, heh heh. He flipped me off for the last time, and this time I didn't go back for more. We could hear someone screaming at us.

"What in tarnation is going on around here?!" an elderly male voice said from across the lake. I opened my mouth to reply, but Link shoved his hand over my mouth quickly. "Who's makin' all that ruckus out there?" 

"C'mon!" Link whispered to me, dragging me over to the far side, behind the island, out of view. The man continued to call, and Link had to keep hushing my giggles. We were close now, face-to-face. He was holding me with one arm around my side, his other hand out as to defend us or something. I don't think he noticed what he was doing, but I didn't mind. Not like I would have been able to get free, anyways. 

"Who is it?" I whispered. I noticed his eyes were darting all over the place.

"It's the old man who owns the laboratory. He's getting grumpy in his old age," he whispered back. I giggled again. I was so close to his face and, well, his entire body. His breathing was quick, heavy; and his voice was raspy. No doubt from the fight he had put up with before. My gash started to burn again. His hand was right over it, and he was squeezing tighter every second. 

"Link, I." He cut me off.

"Shhh," he said. We heard a door close.

"Link, you're hurting me," I said, now going limp under the pressure. He turned to me, and I think that's when he realized how close we really were.

"Oh, sorry," he said, releasing me. I exhaled with relief, but I was still in pain. He hopped out of the water, and helped he out. I sat down on the grass, holding my side. "I think we should change the bandages," he said, standing over me. "It's been a while." I nodded, and slowly unbuckled my belt around my tunic. I was embarrassed to take off my tunic, but he was going to act as a doctor, so I took it off anyways.

*Link*

I searched through my equipment, and pulled out some clean bandages and the extra oil the hag had given to me when I first brought Arden in. I had to remember to go gentle with her, she was a woman, and I needed to start going easier with her. I turned around, and almost dropped the items I had in my hands. She had her tunic off, and her eyes were closed. The moon was now out, and its light illuminated her entire body. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. I watched her lay down, and I could sense her agony. I took a deep breath, and knelt down by her side. She opened her eyes, and smiled at me as I took the old bandages off. I wet a rag with the potion the hag had given me, and I placed it on her wound. She cried out in pain, and grabbed my hand. I knew the antiseptic must have been killing, but I continued to apply it. Her grip got tighter by the second. It was real hard to hear her whimper and cry, but I toughed it out, and finished the job. Her tunic was still wet, and mine was too. I grabbed some extra blankets off of Epona's back, and laid them down next to the tree in the west. I figured it would give us some shade from the sun in the morning. I took my tunic off as well, and laid it down next to hers. I took off her boots, and gently placed her down on top of one of the blankets. I took my hat off, laid down next to her, and pulled the second blanket over us. I could hear her sigh, then her light breathing. I could tell she was asleep, and in peace. I fell asleep to the rhythm of her heartbeat and the smell of her hair.

Well, what do you guys think? I'd appreciate some reviews; your opinions on what I have written so far. Personally, I like the story, and plan on continuing it, so keep checking once in a while (if you enjoyed it) to see if I've updated or not. Thanks!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!! Er…I know in the last chapter I said that I upped the font a couple of sizes, and I did, but it didn't come out on the site. Sorry. The spacing got all messed up as well, so sorry about that too! I'm going to try to do spacing differently this time, and if it doesn't come out, I'll know for sure that my Word program is…well, dumb. Anyways…I'd like to say a gigantic THANK YOU to everyone that reviewed my story so far. When I went on today, I said to myself that if I didn't get any reviews, I wouldn't write. But I did get some, and they made my day! So, here I am, (it's 11:03 p.m. EST) and I'll probably be here at least 'till midnight working on this chapter for you guys. Thank you so much! Oh! And as a side thingy, you should all rent Tomb Raider the movie because I saw it today and I thought it rocked! She's (Lara Croft) wicked cool, an action-adventure role model for anyone! (Alright that's enough ranting and raving I'll go back to Link and Arden now…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Link, (soon, though…I mean...uh…) or Zelda. I don't even own Ocarina of Time! I just "borrow" it from my friend Kel for extended periods of time and…oops…going off on a tangent again…but I do own Majora's Mask! 

*Link*

I could feel the sunlight burning on my closed eyelids. I heard someone's heavy breathing next to mine, then remembered Arden. I smiled, picturing her face in my mind. I opened my eyes and turned my head. Her body was pressed up against mine, more like molded, and she had my arm locked close to her. She stirred, and I froze. I didn't want her to wake up then. I wanted to lay there forever with her.

*Arden*

I was awake, but I didn't open my eyes. I was close to Link, real close. He smelled good, like the deep forest or something. I could feel him breathing; steadily, methodically. I had my arm across his chest. It was hard and muscular, definitely sexy. I don't know why I was feeling all of these things so suddenly, or why I was laying next to him. What happened last night?! I moved, and my gash ached and burned. Oh. That's what happened. 

I was so warm lying there with him, feeling his skin close to mine. He slowly got up, and I moved down into the warm spot he was just laying in. He chuckled.

"Hey sleepyhead," he said playfully. "Get the crap up, lazy." I giggled.

"Fuck you," I replied, opening my eyes.

"Mmm, maybe later," he said. "I'm not in the mood right now." I sat up slowly, and he threw my tunic over my head. "Get dressed, you skank," he said, putting his green garbs on. I pulled mine over my head, then laid back down quickly, throwing the other blanket over my head. "Come on! I wanna show you the rest of Hyrule today!" he said. I hated when people nagged at me.

"Alright," I said with an over-exaggerated sigh. I stood up, and buckled my tunic. I pulled my boots on, and started to put my gear on. 

"You're so slow!" My immediate reaction was to slow down, almost to a stop, which I did. 

"Noooooo…I'm….nooooot…" I said very slowly. I walked in slow motion around Link. "C'mon…Liiiiink…aren't…weeee…going…now?" He pushed me, and whistled for Epona. She came near, and he threw the now-folded blankets back on Epona's back. "Can I drive?" I asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Drive?" Link laughed. "Alright," he said. I jumped on Epona and grabbed the reins. Link got on behind me. I pushed my heels into Epona's side like I saw Link do yesterday, but I apparently did it too hard, because she took off. "Link!" I exclaimed as we flew across the bridge. "Make her stop!" He cracked up.

"No! You're the one that's in control here!" he said, laughing. 

"Damnit, Link, you bastard, make her slow down!" Link grabbed the reins from behind me and slowed her down. How in the hell he did that was beyond me. We trotted along slower now, at a much more comfortable pace. I felt safer because he had his arms out on either side of me, so I leaned back against him. He chuckled again.

"So much for taking control," he said. I felt my stomach grumble. I couldn't remember the last time I had something good to eat or drink.

"Link, I'm hungry," I said, placing my hand over my gut.

"Always thinkin' with your stomach," he said cheerily. I grumbled. "It's alright, I'm hungry too. Let's go get some grub." He turned Epona towards Castle Town. He stopped in front of the drawbridge and jumped off. I did the same, and followed him into the middle of the town square. He led me to a back alley and through a dark doorway. I didn't remember there being a tavern in the game, but at this point, I was willing to believe anything. "Whaddya want?" Link asked me, taking a seat at the bar. I sat down next to him. 

"I dunno, what's good?" I asked him, taking a look around. There were some strange looking fellas all over the place. One had red eyes, not bloodshot eyes, red eyes. He looked familiar for some strange reason, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it then. Link was waving a hand in front of my face.

"Hello? Arden, come in, are you there?" I focused back in and slapped his hand out of the way. "What do you want?" The bartender was standing in front of us.

"Uhm…wine?" I said, a wee bit shakily. I was expecting the guy to ask for some I.D., but he didn't, of course; we were in Hyrule. "Red wine," I said, with a little more confidence.

"Alright," Link said with a sigh. "I guess I'll have the same." The bartender looked at us funny, but Link just turned away as a woman passed by. "Ma'am, could you get us two house specials?" he asked sweetly. Little turd. Manipulating women to do whatever he pleased. Hah.

But he was a very cute little turd…

"S-sure thing!" the young woman squeaked. She turned and headed straight to the kitchen. The bartender placed two goblets in front of us. I took mine up to my lips slowly, and tasted. It was the best wine I'd ever had. (Not that I was a wine connoisseur by any means, but it was still pretty good!) I took another sip, eyes smiling.

"Good, eh?" the bartender asked. I nodded in agreement. "That's our best wine. I could tell yous guys were used to good treatment or sumthin', so I gave you the best," he said proudly, flashing a toothless grin. I half-smiled a thanks.

"Thank you," Link said, turning away. He gave me a strange look, but it faded when the food came.

"What is this?" I asked. "It smells good." Link shrugged.

"It's either goose or chicken, and potatoes, whatever they have as the special today." We both ate our fill at a steady pace. I don't know what it is about Hyrule's food and drink, but whatever it was, it was fabulous. Link paid for our meal, again, and we headed back out onto the field. "Come on, I want to show you my favorite place to go swimming," Link whispered to me as he slowly walked past. 

"Swimming? Again?" I asked, a bit nervous. "We just went swimming!" I exclaimed, hopping onto Epona behind Link. "And aren't you supposed to wait a half an hour or something after you eat to go swimming?" I yelled as we sped off towards the south. Link just laughed. He led us towards a rocky part of the field, and at that point I knew where we were going, Gerudo Valley. We slowed down as we traveled over the short bridge, and stopped completely in front of a tent. 

"Come on, let me show you!" Link said excitedly, grabbing my hand. I had to run to keep up with him. He stopped short at the edge of the great chasm. He whistled for Epona, and began to take off his gear as she came near. I looked over the edge carefully, and almost pissed my pants. 

"Holy shit, no way, man! Link, we can't jump here!" I exclaimed, stepping back slowly. I wasn't too bad with heights, but this was ridiculous. 

"Why not?!" Link asked, as he secured the last bit of his gear on Epona. "Scared?" he teased. I hated being called a scaredy-cat.

"Hell no, but…we could be killed!" I exclaimed again. He walked up to me, slowly, and looked deep into my eyes. I felt awkward with him this close to me again, but I didn't cower away. He put his hands on my shoulders.

"Arden," he started, very calmly. His voice deepened as he continued to speak. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, ever. You can feel safe with me," he said. I almost thought he was sincere until he cracked up. I quickly stepped away from him. 

"You are such a jerk!" I yelled, his boisterous laugh growing louder each second. He was on the ground on his side, laughing. I whipped off my gear as he laughed, and secured it onto Epona with his. I ran at him, and gave him a quick kick in the gut.

"Oww!" he exclaimed. I started to run, and he got up and followed. "I'm going to get you, Arden!" I heard him yell. I had hid myself behind an enormous grey boulder. I could hear his footsteps echoing throughout the entire canyon. I was giddy and nervous all at the same time. "Arden!" he exclaimed, seemingly further away. The footsteps stopped, and I thought I was safe. I peered around to my left, then to my right, but he wasn't there. Before I knew it, I was rolling on the ground with Link again. He was on top of the boulder the entire time. We fought and kicked and screamed, basically made more ruckus than last time. It seemed twice as bad as it was because everything echoed in the canyon.

"Aaah! You!" I exclaimed, rolling around, trying to scramble away from his strong grasp. Somehow, I flipped him, (I think he let me), and I pinned his hands above his head. I straddled his body, and had to put my entire body strength into holding him down. He finally stopped struggling, and we just sat there, panting, smiling. I leaned close, slowly, my feelings confusing me inside. I stopped briefly in front of his face, and looked into his stormy blue eyes. He closed them, and leaned up for a kiss, but instead I leaned down to his ear and whispered:

"I know you want me, fairy boy, but I win this time." I moved my face back in front of his, smiled, and stood up. He jumped off, and with a devilish grin on my face, picked me up. "Damnit, Link, put me down!" I exclaimed. He walked over to the edge of the cliff, and I panicked. "Oh God, Link, no! Please don't drop me! I'll do anything! Don't…" I closed my eyes, and waited for his grip to let go. Instead, he placed me down on the ground. I opened my eyes. He was smiling, but it wasn't the same devil-smile he flashed before. This one was a boyish one, one that I knew I was falling in love with. He gave Epona a couple of pats, and she took off. "Where's she going?" I asked. "She has all our stuff!" 

"Don't worry," he said. "She knows where to go. Now, are you jumping, or not?" he asked. I took a deep breath, and looked over the edge again. I smiled, took his hand, and we jumped, simultaneously, like we knew exactly what the other was thinking.

*Hits her head repeatedly with a cactus* Writer's block sucks. I got to the point where Link and Arden were complaining about being hungry, and just blanked out. I left the story alone for like two days, but I got inspiration again and now I have the whole idea for the story down now! (Well, at least in my head I do…) Sorry if I haven't been updating as often as usual, but I've just been really tired and not in the mood. But, now that I've got chapter 4 up for your reading enjoyment, I feel a bit relieved. Well, thanks so much for being patient!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey peeps! I'm still tired, but the awesome reviews I got put me in the mood to write! *Roaring crowd sounds…like the Romans* So yeah, I'm really glad all of you like the story, because I was scared that people were just going to be like "Okay, that sucked. Why don't you go walk into oncoming traffic." I just realized that it is really really cold in my house…*pulls her sweatshirt closer* damnit…too lazy to turn up the heat…alright, enough bullshit, here's chapter 5!

Disclaimer: does anyone read this thing anyways? Oh yeah, Malon kind of goes nuts in this chapter. I don't know if I'm going to make her gay or what, but I needed some sort of a plot twister!

*Arden*

I think I pissed my pants as we plummeted off the side of the cliff. Well, almost. Link and I screamed the whole way down, but not really a scared scream, more like a "Yay I'm excited" kind of scream. We hit the water at the same time, and it was freezing. I surfaced, but I didn't see Link. What if he had hit his head on a rock or something? I started calling out his name. This game seemed all too familiar. I turned around and waded further downstream. I was about to panic until I felt those hands around my waist again. I sighed and turned around, giving him a hug.

"Thank you so much for making me do that! That was the best thing I think I've ever done!" he pushed me off of him. I felt like an idiot. He smiled.

"Yeah, mhm, so now will you start to trust me?" he said with that boyish smirk on his face. I nodded. "Good," he said. "Now come on!" he exclaimed as he grabbed my wrist and swam downstream. We eventually ended up in Lake Hylia, just like in the game. And sure enough, Epona was by the laboratory, waiting for us. We waded to shore and stood on the grass under the sun, trying to dry off. I was still cold, and Link apparently noticed.

"What?" I complained. I was shivering. Link looked down at my chest.

"Is it cold out here??" he asked, chuckling to himself. I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on!" he ran towards Epona. I followed, and jumped on the back of him. "We're going to Lon Lon Ranch!" I smiled. Now there's a place I knew we weren't going to get into any trouble in. But maybe we were…what if Malon doesn't like me? Or if that Ingo guy went nuts or something? What about those chickens?!!

"Link, don't expect me to milk any cows, or step in horse poo, because I refuse to." Link laughed again.

"No, don't worry, you won't have to!" Soon enough, we reached that familiar entrance, and went inside the Ranch walls. We went past the two buildings, and got off Epona so she could roam free at her home again. Link and I walked into the barn, and I could hear a soft humming somewhere from within. "You-who!" Link cried. A short redhead popped up from behind a cow. Man, her hair was redder than mine!

"Fairy Boy!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in a while!" She spoke in what I would call a southern accent, like she was from Texas or something.

"Hiya Malon," Link retorted, flashing the farm girl a smile.

"Who's this young lady?" she asked, turning to me. I looked older than her, for crimety's sake! 

"Malon, this is my new friend Arden. Arden, this is my childhood friend Malon," Link said, nudging me towards her. I smiled.

"Nice to meet you," I said. It smelled in here.

"Pleasure's all mine," she said, beaming. I didn't like the way she looked at me. I felt uncomfortable, and I think Link sensed that as well. "Well, come on into the house! I'll get you guys a glass of our finest milk!"

"Oh, no, Malon, you don't have to do that!" Link exclaimed. But Malon was already out the door. "Isn't she sweet?" Link said, eyes alive. He quickly walked out after her.

"Heh, yeah, real sweet," I mumbled. I followed the two inside, and she pulled out two bottles of milk. Link drank it all in two gulps, and I sipped at it. Usually just drinking milk by itself makes me sick, but this stuff was really good.

"So hows by you, Link? You don't stop by here as often as you used to!" Malon squeaked.

"I've been doing alright. Things have slowed down a lot, but I got myself a new sidekick here," he said bumping my hip. I swayed, and forced a smile. We finished our milk and went back outside. There were scattered chickens all over the place, and I just couldn't help myself. 

*Link* 

Malon and I stood by the gates. Arden, that wild girl, went chasing after some poor chickens. Reminds me of my childhood.

"You've snagged a nice one this time!" Malon said, turning to me. We watched her race back and forth with the chickens.

"Snagged?" I asked. I had no idea what she was talking about. "This time? This is the first time I've ever had a sidekick!"

"So that's what they're calling them these days!" Malon cried. I blushed.

"No, Malon, she's just a friend. She was in trouble, and I've been helping her out."

"I'm sure she helps you out real good, too," she said. Malon had her eyes glued to Arden, who was now warming up to a baby colt. She was definitely cute with that horse.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's real pretty too," Malon continued. "Auburn hair, not quite as red as mine of course, and green eyes. I betcha she could bring you to your knees with those hips, too." What was the matter with her? 

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled. Arden had made her way back to chasing the chickens, this time, with her sword drawn. 

"But, Link," Malon started, "I thought I was the only redhead in your life!" 

"Malon, what in the heck are you talking about?!" I exclaimed.

"Nuthin," she retorted coyly. "So how is she in bed?" I almost choked.

"What the fuck are you saying?! I don't know! Listen, Malon, she's only a friend!"

"Sure she is!" she exclaimed. I was about to go mad. "Well, whenever you get up her shirt, or down her pants, whichever comes first, tell me the details, alright? Or…stop by when you're both in the mood. I'd love to see you two…"

"Malon, what is your problem?" I was tingling all over the place. Thank the goddesses for Arden's wacky-ness. She had poked the chickens one too many times, and was running back and forth in front of us, screaming, with mad poultry on her tail.

"Helllllppppppp!!!" Arden said, racing towards us. I whistled for Epona before ducking for cover in the barn with Malon and Arden. I slammed the door. We were all panting, and Arden and Malon were laughing. Sure, that stunt was amusing and charming, but I wasn't in the mood to laugh. Something had gotten into Malon, and I wasn't sure what. I didn't like it. Arden had stopped laughing when she saw my face.

"What's 'a matter, bro?" she asked, concerned. 

"Yeah, Fairy Boy," Malon said slowly. "What's wrong?" She had a smug grin on her face.

"Nothing. Sorry, Malon, but we were just leaving," I said. I grabbed Arden's arm again, and yanked her towards the exit. She looked confused.

"Going? But we just got here!" she exclaimed. "Well, thanks Malon! Nice meeting you!" she cried. Malon shot us another peculiar look.

"Pleasure's all mine," Malon repeated, winking at us. We ran out, and I slammed the door.

"What's your problem, man?!" Arden shouted. 

"Malon was the one with the problem," I replied, mounting Epona.

"What? Is she in trouble?" Arden asked. Good old Arden. Always looking out for the best of everyone. 

"No, I don't know what's going on with her, but she wasn't herself today. Come on, let's get the hell outta here." Arden shrugged and mounted Epona. She held on to my waist as we started going again. Poor Arden, so innocent, so naive. This was only the first time I had to protect her from a woman. Sadly, it wouldn't be the last time I did.

Ooooh, there's a little bit of foreshadowing there! Hoped you liked that chapter…my appendages are cold. (lol!) *screams* Nigel's Wild Wild World is on! (Only Nigel can make predator Dogwelk snails and muscles look like a Jaws movie!) THE MUSCLE HAD A HEART ATTACK! SAVE ME! Well, that's what I get for staying up late to write for you guys. Alrighty. Thanks again for the wonderful (and sometimes wacky) reviews…coughcoughSetsunnacoughcough. ;o) Well, cya around! (Like a doughnut! Mmmm….doughnuts…)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six! Yeah! Took me long enough, heh. Well, I apologize for that, and I blame school! I got a lot of that story written over February vacation, (well, actually, all of it), and it'll take me longer to get up chapters than it did before. (I wouldn't be writing this chapter right now if Marching Band hadn't been cancelled! Only the drummers didn't have to go, so, score one for me!) Anyways, enjoy. Oh! And the Malon thing in the last chapter will come into play LATER in the story for those who were asking. And the guy with the red eyes in the tavern was Sheik. 

Disclaimer: how many words can you make out of "disclaimer?" A, aim, is, dim, I'm…

*Arden*

"What's wrong, Link?" I asked as we sped quickly away from the peaceful ranch.

"Nothing, it's just that I have a lot to show you," Link replied, slowing down towards the outer western side of Castle Town. I could tell he was lying. Oh well. "I want to show you the scariest place in all of Hyrule." I laughed.

"Link, I don't want to see your bedroom!" I retorted playfully as Epona came to a stop. Link laughed.

"No, not there, but I guess compared to my bedroom, the place I'm taking you to would be second scariest." I gasped.

"NOT THE HYRULE PUBLIC TOILETS!" I cried, jumping off Epona. He laughed again, and dismounted as well.

"No, not the Hyrule Public Toilets," he said. He whipped out his ocarina. "Come here," he said, beckoning me to stand next to him. I obeyed, and stood next to him. "Put your arms around me," he commanded. 

"So we ARE going to your bedroom!" I joked. He shot me a weird look, so I grabbed onto his waist. He began to play a song, a song that sounded familiar. Soon, a purple light surrounded us, and we were whisked away quickly. I could see all of Hyrule in a blur as we passed by, faster and faster. I began to get dizzy so I shut my eyes. We were soon placed down, gently, and the purple light disappeared. Weird! "Am I dead?" I asked quietly, eyes still shut tight, holding on to Link's waist for dear life.

"No, unfortunately," Link said, pushing me off of him. I opened my eyes, and took a look around. We were up on some sort of ledge, and below us there was a graveyard. 

"Unfortunately?!" I exclaimed, turning to face him. He was already descending the stairs that were behind us. I followed. "You want me dead?" He stopped short and turned around abruptly. He had an enormous grin on his face. I suddenly didn't feel safe anymore.

"When I said I was taking you to the scariest place in all of Hyrule, I didn't happen to mention that it was also the most dangerous place?" 

"No."

"Didn't think so," Link said, continuing down the stairs.

"So, basically, me plus this place equals death?" I cried as we reached the bottom of the stairs. There was only a circle of torches lit, and our voices echoed in the darkness. 

"That could be arranged," he said ominously. I felt the color in my face leave as we stepped inside. "Welcome to the Shadow Temple," he said, acting like some sort of sick tour guide.

"Very…uhm…unique place," I after noticing a human skeleton in the corner. "I love what they've done with the place!" I added. Sarcasm was my middle name. Well, actually, Marie was, but that's a different story. I quickly turned a corner.

"Wait!" Link screamed, grabbing the back of my tunic. Good thing he did, because I would have plummeted into eternal darkness if he didn't. I swayed back and forth, and eventually re-gained my balance. "You have to be careful here!" he exclaimed. 

"Alright, man, I'm sorry, I'll be more careful! But it doesn't really look like I have to be anymore, because this is a dead end." There was a wall across from the gap in the floor, decorated with a lovely yellowed skull with red flaming eyes. 

"No it's not," Link said. He took out some sort of looking glass, only it was purple, and it had some sort of eye decorated in the center of it. He held it up to his face, and smiled. "This place hasn't changed a bit since the last time I was here." He held the thing out to me, and I looked through it. Whoah, what a difference! The wall was gone, and I could see through to a larger room with a bird statue and torches. "That's the Eye of Truth," he said, smiling. "If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here right now." I handed it back to him carefully.

"You can lead, I'll follow," I said, standing behind him. He whipped out his longshot, grabbed me, and we flew across to the other side.

"Damn, it's harder to do that with all that extra weight," he said as we pulled ourselves up. 

"All that extra weight? I don't weigh THAT much!" I exclaimed. I wasn't really offended, but as I've stated before, I love to pick fights. He just laughed and continued on. Well, to make a long story short, we went through the Shadow Temple, and I also got to see him in action with his Hover Boots, bow and arrow, and even get in a sword fight with this awful skeleton thing. Link called it a Stalfos. I called it ugly. I don't know what it called us, because it was laughing the entire time, but I'm sure he didn't call us friends. Oh! I forgot to mention the lovely guillotines! We also got to dodge some grim reaper things, sickles, and all! To top all that off, we got to take a cruise on a magical ship that floated on air! Yeah. What an experience. In the end we dropped down into a giant room with a bouncy floor, and Link said that's where he fought Bongo-Bongo, the boss of the temple or something. We went into some blue light, and were placed back out front of the temple. 

"That was…different," I said, looking around quickly. Link smiled.

"Glad you liked it. Now, I want to show you a place that's very special to me," he said, taking my hand. He jumped off the ledge, and I followed. We passed through the graveyard and exited out of Kakariko. He called Epona once we reached the field, and we rode to the southern part of the field again. This time, we went into some hidden path that led into the forest. We got off Epona at the entrance to the forest, and walked through. We walked across a bridge, then entered another part of the forest. We could see houses all over the place, and tall trees aligning the boundaries of the wood. We could see little kids running around, playing. They had similar clothing on to Link, only much, much smaller.

"What is this place?" I asked, still acting like I was a stranger. 

"This is Kokiri! I grew up here!" he said, happily. 

"Oh," I said with a nod. "Very…um…interesting."

"Come on!" he said, grasping my arm and running to some sort of treehouse. We climbed the ladder, and walked through the small opening. There was a small bed, table and two chairs, and some other odds and ends. "This is my house!" he said, beaming.

"You live here?" I couldn't believe it. He was way too big to still live here!

"Well, I used to," he said. "Before…oh, nevermind." 

"Do you have a new house now?" He nodded. 

"And a place at the castle." I was shocked.

"At the castle?! What, are you royalty or something?" He shook his head.

"No, I'm not. But after I saved Hyrule, the king gave me a few rooms in the castle to have for myself. I don't go there much as I used to."

"Why?" I asked.

"Oh, things change. Sadly, people do too," he said solemnly.

"Oh. Well then, where is your other house?" 

"In Kakariko," he said. "I just have some stuff stored in there. The place is locked up. It isn't really livable right now." I stretched out, and hit my head on the low ceiling. 

"Oww! Damn ceiling!" I cried, rubbing my head. Link laughed, and brought me into a quick headlock. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" I feared that he was going to give me a noogie, but he just pushed me outside.

"Come on, let's go," he said, descending the ladder. When we walked back out into Hyrule field, the sun had just begun to set. The sky was a lovely portrait with crimson, maroon and orange hues. I had never seen a sunset quite so beautiful before. I just stood there, gazing into it, taking in all those beautiful rays. Link stopped in front of me, blocking the direct sun. There was a soft glow of light illuminating his silhouette, and when he smiled at me, I couldn't help but smile back. My stomach felt all twisted and I was nervous. I wanted so badly to just be held by him, breathe in his scent, kiss his soft lips…

"Come on, let's go to the castle. I want you to meet someone." 

Alrighty, well, *sigh* I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up, but keep checking! Again, I apologize for not updating as often as usual, but school keeps me busy. Thanks so much!


	7. Chapter 7

So…tired…pain…sleep…food…mmmm…food…food…must…write…story…must…make…people…happy…*dies*

Disclaimer: OH MY GOD I JUST SAW A CAT ON MY PORCH! REALLY! That bottle of painkillers hasn't impaired my judgment at all! 

"Meet someone? Wait, Link, castle? I don't like castles! And I don't like people!" I just kept ranting and raving as Epona raced faster and faster towards the castle. 

"Come on, I know you'll like her," Link said, chuckling. Her? What? Did Link have a girlfriend? Wait…I'm not stupid…a girl, in a castle…what was this leading to? Were Link and Zelda…hitched?

"Whatever," I replied, and sat back. When we got to Hyrule castle, all the guards tipped their…helmets…at Link, and we got through security with ease. Now, the inside of the castle was some place that I had not seen prior to me being here. The ceilings were extremely high with massive hanging chandeliers. Our footsteps echoed throughout the great halls, and I stared in awe at the great paintings that hung on the walls. Link led me further and further into the castle, until we finally reached a throne room. Sitting on the thrones were Zelda and…was that Sheik? Link walked up to them and bowed, and I just stood besides him. No way in hell was I going to bow to some foreign princess and a…Sheikah? 

"Link, so wonderful for you to visit," Zelda said in a low tone. It seemed like an unwelcoming tone to me. Link got up off of his knees and stood next to me. "And you've brought a friend this time," she said, reaching out to take a sip out of a golden goblet. I forced a smile and Link did, too. 

"Yes, this is my new friend Arden…Arden, this is Princess Zelda, ruler of Hyrule," he said, somewhat solemnly.

"Soon-to-be Queen," the blonde said, placing her hand on Sheik's. "And this is Sheik, my fiancée."

"It's nice to meet you both," I said. The scene kept getting more and more awkward by the second. I looked up at Sheik, and then realized that the guy in the tavern with the red eyes was he. Those eyes were definitely cool, and I don't know what it was about them, but he smiled at me, and I felt all flushed throughout my whole body. I didn't know what it was about him, but whatever it was, I liked it. He stood up after Zelda did, and I got to see his figure. He was tall, not as tall as Link, and had shaggy blonde hair. I don't know about the tight clothing fad for men in Hyrule, but for some reason, I didn't mind anymore. He was very muscular, and…and why the hell am I feeling all these things?! Zelda and Link were walking away, and I think Link had said something to me…but…damn, Sheik is fine! He approached me, slowly, and we walked side-by-side down the passageway behind Zelda and Link. They were talking, I could tell, but I wasn't paying attention.

"So, Arden," Sheik began. I almost fainted, I think, at the sound of his seductive voice. Seductive?!!

"This place is beautiful," I said, in almost a whisper.

"Yes it is. So Arden, where are you from? You certainly aren't a Hylian, I can tell you that much," he said with a slight chuckle. I giggled.

"How did you know that?" I asked, stupidly. What in the hell has come over me?

"Your ears, they're small. And I can tell you're not as weak as most other Hylian girls. Your looks are different as well; you're much more elegant, with an alluring foreign charm." I couldn't believe what was coming out of this guy's mouth. He was smooth, all right, and he had me twisted around his little fingers.

"T-t-thank you," I managed to spill out. My gaze was practically locked with his. God he was so…and I just wanted to…

"Are you two coming or what?" Link said impatiently, tapping his foot at the end of the hall. I didn't even realize how far behind we were of them. I could hear Zelda giggle. I quickened my pace, and Sheik followed. We traveled up a winding flight of stairs, and through another passageway. I looked out a window, and night had fallen already.

"I trust you two will be staying the night," Zelda said, taking out keys. She unlocked two large doors that were next to each other. Link nodded. "Here is the room my father gave you, Link," Zelda said of the door to the right. "It still has some of your belongings that you left here last time," she said, lighting the candles all around the room. Link walked in after Zelda, and I stayed in the doorway, watching the two. I felt a hand gently grasp my waist on the side. I turned my head abruptly, and it was Sheik. I got another rush though my body again as he led me into my room. It was large, similar to Link's, only the carpet and bedspread was red, instead of green. The bed was enormous, and there was a huge dresser and a mirror on the wall. I couldn't believe the details in the woodwork. There was even an enormous fireplace, and in front of it some sort of overstuffed red couch. Sheik lit most of the candles, and showed me to a small door on where the wall jutted in between our rooms. 

"This is the washroom," he said slowly, "for later on tonight before you settle in. If you need more firewood, or linens, or any help at all, my private study is the last door in this hallway on the left, and our bedroom is across from that on the right," he said, lighting more candles. "I'm sure you'll love the bath. If you feel the need to take one, tell the servants in the hall, and they'll fetch some hot water for you. All in all, sweet Arden, I think you'll find the castle a wonderful place to stay." Was this guy for real? Well, I stopped caring, because they have a bath! Finally, sanitation! He led me back into the room, and opened the dresser. There were gorgeous gowns, red and black ones. He pushed them to the side, revealing some nightgowns. They were pretty, all right, but it looked like they were missing a lot of fabric. He held one out. Suddenly I felt we were in a Victoria's Secret store.

"That one's…uh…nice," I said, hanging it back up. It was red, almost as red as my face was turning!

"I've always loved a woman in red," Sheik said, closing the doors.

"Uh-huh," I said, sounding like I didn't believe him. Link and Zelda walked through the opened doors inbetween our rooms.

"So you like it here, Miss Arden?" Zelda said, arms crossed. I didn't like her one bit, and I knew the feeling was mutual between us. She sounded so fake, but Link was smiling. Cheese heads.

"Please, just Arden. And yes, Princess, you do have a lovely home. Not quite what I'm used to," I said, forcing yet another smile.

"Call me Zelda," she said sweetly, so sweetly that I almost gagged.

"Well then, Arden, you can tell us what you are used to when you join us for dinner tonight. It's in an hour, so be ready! A maid will be in shortly, and Link will show you the way," Sheik said, taking Zelda's hand. Jealousy swept over me as he did so, but I couldn't understand why. "Shall we go, sweet pea?" Sheik said, turning to Zelda. I could sense Link's jealousy too, but for Zelda this time.

"No, dear, I think I'll stay for a bit longer with them. I have a lot a catching up to do with Link!"

"Alright then. See you soon," he said, stepping backwards slowly. He winked a red eye at me, then disappeared with a flash of light.

"How in the hell did he do that?" I exclaimed, rushing to where he was just a second ago. 

"Show off," Link mumbled. I held in my laughter.

"What was that?" Zelda asked.

"Nothing," Link said, walking back into his room. I followed them. Link's room was a bit larger than mine, and it had bookshelves packed to the brim with books. I looked around, and to the far right of the fireplace were glass doors, leading out to a balcony. I didn't get a balcony!

"Hey, man, how come you get a balcony?!" I exclaimed, punching him. He pushed me.

"Because I don't suck," he said jokingly, pushing me out there. I could tell Zelda was appalled by our actions. Heh, not like I give a rat's ass. The balcony was pretty big, and it overlooked a courtyard. Zelda and Link were speaking in low whispers, so I didn't butt in. I continued to look around, and I noticed there was an overhang above the entrance to the balcony. I judged I could hoist myself up there, no problem. They continued talking for a few minutes, and I began to get bored. When I looked back at them this time, I watched Zelda lock lips with Link, giving me a "haha he's mine" kinda look before grabbing him. I was pissed. How could he kiss her? Doesn't she have Sheik? What in the hell?! I was peeved, and Link looked like he was enjoying it, so I hopped up on the overhang, out of site, and probably out of Link's mind. The next time Link looked out at the balcony, I wouldn't be there, so maybe I'd get him worried or something. Hah, serves him right. Well, if he liked kissing engaged people, two could play at that game.

*Link – A minute before the kiss*

I watched Arden stroll out to the balcony, then I turned back to Zelda. She had something funny in her eyes, but whatever. Goddesses, she was so beautiful. All those feelings I promised myself I'd get rid of but only buried were coming out again. She's getting married, don't do anything. She's getting married, don't do anything. Damnit, I can't help it!

"Link," she began softly. "I know things didn't work out between us. But I want you to know, I'll always love you, no matter what." I gulped.

"Uh…uh-huh," I replied.

"Link, things have changed, I know you know." 

"Yes, but…"

"And I told you what happened when you were sealed in the Temple of Time all these years."

"Yeah, you…and Sheik…"

"Shhh," she said. "I know, I know. But you'll always be my first love, forever and ever," she said, getting closer. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. She wrapped her arms around me, and brought me down into a kiss. Oh, sweet Nayru, I've dreamed of this for so long! We continued to kiss, but it wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it sucked, no pun intended. But I didn't care, Zelda was kissing me! I didn't feel fireworks or anything like the other guys I've talked to said happened when you kissed a girl, and it started getting gross when she put her tongue in my mouth. Arden was probably laughing at me by now because I looked so stupid. Arden, damnit, I forgot all about her! I broke the kiss rapidly.

"Zelda, it's over." I said. There, I had done it. And man, did it feel good! I couldn't believe the look on her face. Any love that I still held for her had disappeared as soon as she planted that kiss on me. 

"Well then," she said hastily, "I'll see you at dinner." And with that, she turned on her heels and stormed out, slamming the door. I held in my laughter.

"Whoah, Arden, that was pretty funny, huh?" I said, turning around to face the balcony. I didn't see her anywhere. "Arden?" I called, walking out. She wasn't there. She didn't jump, did she?! Oh goddesses, please let her be all right! "Arden!" I exclaimed, running into her room. Nobody there. I ran back out onto the balcony.

*Arden*

"Hello!" I exclaimed, letting my head swing down to face him as he walked onto the balcony. He jumped.

"Jeez, Arden, you scared me!" he exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart. Yeah, I saw the kiss, and yeah, it hurt, but I wouldn't let that show. No way, Jose. Just bury it inside me, and only let the tough side show…

"Haha, well, that's what you get," I said, hopping down.

"For what?" he said, walking out to the ledge. I sat down on it, letting my legs dangle over the floor.

"For…uh…being you," I said shakily. "So…it went well?" I asked nervously.

"Uh, I guess," Link replied. We were suddenly uneasy around each other, and there was this ongoing awkward silence. "So what do you think of Sheik?" he asked, pacing back and forth.

"Oooo…" I said. "Oh Sheik, soooo hot, want to touch the heiny, aroooooo!" I said, sounding like a dog. Link laughed.

"So you like him, eh?" he said, nudging me with his elbow. I nodded vigorously. I didn't really like him that much, but I had to get Link back for kissing Zelda.

"I don't know what it is, but when he looks at me with those red eyes, I feel like…like I'm gunna faint or something." Link put his hand on his head and groaned.

"Alright, Arden, you may think you're in love, but don't let those feelings get a hold of you. Sheik uses dark magic to get women to fall for him, magic that was passed down through his heritage. Try not to make eye contact, and don't fall for his smooth talk." I couldn't believe it. Wait a minute, yes I could. That's why I felt those weird things when I looked at him, and when he spoke!

"Ohhh…" I said, looking back out into the courtyard. "Thank you, Link," I said. "I'm gunna go get ready for dinner now," I said, walking back into my room.

Well, there you go guys! Please review, please please?! Thanks! And sorry it's been taking me so long to get up chapters!


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, I am not in a good mood right now. First, I get on the computer for the first time in a week because I finally had time to. When I do, I discovered that what I had written for chapter eight was completely gone, and I was almost done with it, too. Then my mom yells at me, and then I check the reviews and people don't like my ideas about Sheik. In MY story, Sheik is a separate person than Zelda. A totally different person! Not the same! Just assume that Zelda took Sheik's form after she met him and fell in love with him and crappity crap. She used that as a disguise to hide from Ganondorf. And I feel like making him somewhat evil because I'm evil. And yes, I have read parts of "Love in a VERY unexpected place." It is really good, and I got some ideas from that story, as well as from two others that I can't remember the titles of. Thank you, Icecold, you are an inspiration! As for the others, I could find them, but I'm too Goddamn lazy and I have a headache and I'm angry. And to top that off, I had not one, but TWO St. Patrick's Day parades last weekend, one in South Boston! (F.Y.I.- It's a really really really long parade! And I had to carry a friggin' drum!) So, is all that cleared up now? Sheik=Sheik, NOT ZELDA! 

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING 'CEPT MY COMPUTER AND MY CARDBOARD BOX IN THE SLUMS OF A MONOPOLY BOARD! I don't own Zelda, or Monopoly for that matter. *starts singing* I am slowly going crazy one two three four five six switch! Crazy am I slowly going one two three four five six switch…*grabs a stapler* Ahhh, my trusty Swingline! *pats it like a cat…eeew, I hate cats…* 

A/N: At certain points in this chapter, the views between Arden and Link will switch quickly, but I'm sure all of you will be fine with it.

*Arden*

I walked back into my room to find a strange looking woman frantically searching through my dresser. She was short and plump, and was humming furiously. My boots clicked on the stone, and she turned around.

"Oh! Come qvickly! Ve must find you somezing to vear for zee dinner!" she exclaimed, beckoning me over to her. She had a really strange accent.

"Well, my name is…"

"Yeah yeah! No time! No time! You must hurry!" What the fuck was this? I'm not friggin dressing up like Cinderella.

"Lady, we have an hour," I said, hoping she would hear a voice of reason. She held up a pink dress. I scowled.

"Does not match your red hair!" she said, throwing it on the bed. That was it.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" She paused, and turned around.

"Oh! How rhude of me! My name iz Hilda! I vill be your azzistant for your zstay at zee castle!"

"I'm Arden."

"Yes I know. Now, we must pick somezing out!" She held out an elegant maroon colored dress. "Yuck! Much too simple!" she exclaimed, tossing it on the ground. I carefully picked it up, admiring its delicate and intricate designs. "Here, try ziz one on!" she said, holding out a green dress. I tried it on. Well, I tried to try it on; it was way too small.

"It's a little tight," I managed to squeak out. Not only was it tight, but it was too short. She laughed. 

"Ziz one," she said, handing me a red dress. That one was too big. The blue one fit nicely, but I thought it was ugly. I wouldn't touch the other pink one. She finally pulled out this black and deep red dress. I fell in love with it.

"I like that one," I said.

"Then you'll love zee corset as well!" 

"What?! No way am I going to wear a dress with a corset. I'll wear the blue one! Or the pink one!" She just chuckled.

I can't believe I wore the corset.

Well, it was beautiful, and it did look good on me, but I still hated the corset. Piece of crap…

"So beautiful! Zee boyz vill be falling all over you!" she said in delight, twirling around the room with the red dress I had tried on earlier. "Oh! If only I vas your size!" This lady was nuts.

"Right, so," I said. "Now what?" She stood there, obviously in deep thought.

"SHOES!" she shrieked, nearly knocking me over. She opened a bottom drawer, and pulled out elegant shoes that matched the dress. I put them on. She was bustling about, and I began to wonder what Link was doing. Heh, I wonder what he's going to look like, all spiffed up. Well, not like he's going to friggin pay attention to me when he's got the Princess to himself. "Arden, come here," Hilda said. I snapped out of my daze and sat next to her on the bed. She had a brush in her hand. I let her brush my hair, and I went back into my daze. What if Link was lying about Sheik? Would he lie like that? No, I don't think so. I guess it's better to trust a friend than a stranger. And Zelda. Why did I get such a bad vibe from her? I just don't understand these Hylians. Their lives seem to be more complicated than…well…Americans, and they don't even have half of the things we have! But I'm still not sure about Link. Was he playing me? Do they even know how to play people in Hyrule? Good God I think I've gone cross-eyed!

"What are you going to do with my hair?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, you'll see," she said, fiddling with it some more. She finally finished, and I ran to the mirror. My hair was shiny and calm for once, and she had a braid on either side of my head (above my ears) tied in the back with a satin black ribbon. I felt like a princess, tee-hee!

"You're so awesome!" I exclaimed, floating around the room.

"Zhank you," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, child, come here," she said. I obeyed, and stood besides her while she dug through a small satchel hanging off her dress. She pulled out a beautiful necklace, and carefully placed it around my neck.

"Oh Hilda," I said, grasping it as she held a small mirror in front of it. It was a black stone with a silver backing on a delicate silver chain. "This is so beautiful," I said, turning to her. "I can't wear this! You wear it to the dinner tonight!" She laughed.

"Arden, dear, I von't be attending zee dinner, silly! I'm just a zervant!" Aw man, now I felt bad. "Don't fret, child! I vill be fine!" she said jovially. I sighed. We heard horn blasts echoing throughout the hall. "Oh! Zat means dinner vill be starting soon! Hurry!" she said, pushing me to the exit.

"But what about Link?!" I exclaimed as she slammed the door shut behind me. I looked down the dimly lit hall in both directions, and decided to get Link. I went to knock on the door, but before I placed my fist on it, it swung open, and Link was shoved out towards me. He slammed into me, unable to stop, and knocked me back.

"Whoah!" he exclaimed, stumbling to the side. I regained my balance, and took a look at him. He had a black tunic on, subtly embroidered with gold. He had a black belt with a shiny gold belt buckle, and his legs and arms were covered with clean white fabric. He had a matching black hat on, but no sword or shield. His boots were black, too. I could say that he looked good, or cool, or super-neat-o, but those were all understatements. He looked straight-up hot. His hair was combed, and the usual stubble that covered his chin and cheeks was gone. "What's 'a matter?" he said, staring at me with that cocky smile on his mug.

"Uh…I…uh…nothing," I stuttered. Unable to stop myself, I reached out and felt the fabric. It was crushed velvet or something, very nice to the touch. "Ooooh, fancy-schmancy, eh? Velvet, how sexy," I said sarcastically. He growled. 

"Shut up, I wouldn't be talking," he retorted, stepping back. I felt his eyes burning holes all over my body. I couldn't help but blush. He walked up to me in silence, and cautiously extended his hand towards my chest. I was ready to slug him, but he just grabbed the necklace. "Who'd you manage to steal this from?" 

"I didn't steal it!" I cried.

"Sure you didn't."

"I didn't. That lady Hilda let me borrow it for tonight." He rolled his eyes. "What?!" 

"That Hilda's pretty interesting, isn't she?" he asked, letting go of the necklace. I nodded. We heard horns blasting again. "Come on!" he said, grabbing my arm and racing down the passageways.

"Link! Slow down! I can't run in these shoes!" I cried, in vain. He just quickened his pace. Why did this guy insist on running all the time?

*Link*

Damnit, we need to go faster! We ran up through the grand upstairs hall, and then down the main flight of stairs. I stopped running and regained my composure. I gazed over at Arden again. She was so beautiful in that dress. She smiled, so I took her arm, and as charmingly as possible, walked into the dining hall. I turned to Arden and smiled, she looked even more attractive under these lights. We all took our seats, and waited for Zelda and Sheik to enter. 

"What are we having?" Arden whispered to me, watching silver platters being placed on the table. I shrugged.

"Probably steak," I replied. "It's the Princess's favorite." She smiled.

"Well, at least she's got good taste in food," Arden said, nudging me with her elbow. Zelda and Sheik entered the room, arms linked, and everyone stood and applauded. They took their seats after Zelda made a long boring speech about how wonderful it was to have everyone here and how honored she felt to have such magnificent guests like me and Arden; total bullshit. But the people loved her, so we all went along with it. Well, the meal went by smoothly, and I noticed no weird eye contact between Sheik and Arden. After the dessert was served, the band started to play a bit louder. Zelda and Sheik rose simultaneously, and walked over to the dance floor. Arden started to get up, but I stopped her.

"The first dance is always for Zelda and Sheik," I informed her. She sat back, and pouted.

"This music sucks," she whispered to me. "It's too tinny and formal. Those musicians need to loosen up." I chuckled. Soon enough, the song ended, and couples filled the dance floor. I dragged Arden over, and tried to dance with her. She definitely wasn't in step with the rest of us, and it was the easiest dance we do!

"Arden, don't you know how to dance?" I asked, laughing.

"Yeah, but not like you do. Teach me!" she said, grabbing my hand and waist. I taught her our basic waltz, but she still didn't seem comfortable. "It's the music," she said, pulling away. "I'll be right back," she said, and then disappeared into the crowd.

*Arden*

I wandered my way to the pit, and waited for the song to end. I saw a horde of girls surround Link, so I didn't feel too bad for leaving him on the dance floor. They finally finished, and everyone clapped. I walked up to the pianist, and asked if I could sit in. He nodded, and I sat down. Let's see if all those years of lessons were worth something…

*Link*

As I tried to push my way through the girls surrounding me, I heard a piano begin to play. Everyone stopped and listened, intrigued with the sounds swirling all around us. I had never heard such music before, and it was quite interesting. My head began to bob, along with a few others around me.

*Arden*

Just…keep…going! I kept on playing, letting the music flow from my fingertips. I was always good with jazz, and also with improvising. The pianist seemed to catch on, and I was able to leave him playing by himself. The drummer began playing a rock beat, and I went over to the guitars (damnit, they had them in Majora's Mask!). I quickly gave them the chords to follow, and soon enough, we had somewhat of a good band playing jazz and 1950-ish rock. Some people were dancing already, and I wandered back to Link. He was just standing there with his jaw dropped. I shrugged, and began to dance with him. He obviously didn't know how to grind, so I started to show him. A crowd began to form around us as we danced, and I think they were both chocked and intrigued at the same time. 

*Link*

Oh my goddesses, this was so much fun! I had never really been this close to a girl in that way, and the feeling was indescribable. Sheik came over, and started dancing on the other side of her. I looked around the room, which at this point was spinning, and caught Zelda's gaze. Her eyes were clouded over with hatred, and I could tell she was furious. I didn't care, though; I was having too much fun making an Arden sandwich with Sheik. We danced on into the night until Arden and I got tired. She pulled me off to the side, and we slowly made our way back up to our quarters.

*Sigh* That took me forever! And again, I'm really really REALLY sorry that I haven't been updating…at all. So, if you have any questions, or wanna chat or something, my email addy is LilDrummerGirl65@aol.com. Just tell me who you are before you start talking so I don't think you're a stalker or something. Thanks for your patience!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys! Let's see if I can get things up faster from now on…

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, so don't sue me.

*Arden*

Link and I walked out into the hallway, or whatever you'd call it, panting. I wondered what else I could change in Hyrule, what other rules I could break. I had already dressed like and carried weapons like a guy, introduced new music, and showed people how to get their groove on.

"Arden, you are the weirdest girl I've ever known," Link said to me as we slowly began ascending the stairs.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Would you like it to be?" I thought a minute, then shrugged.

"I'm not weird, I'm just different than all of you here," I stated. Our arms kept rubbing against eachother, and I could feel his warmth radiating onto me. 

"That's for sure," Link said, pushing me up the stairs faster. I didn't bother retaliating. I was too tired. "So, uh, Arden," Link said, somewhat slowly.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing." There was a moment of awkward silence. Only our footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the hall. "Arden?"

"What?"

"Would you…uh…I mean do you…oh, nevermind," he said, sauntering a bit slower.

"Okay." There was another moment of silence.

"You look really…um," Link paused. I smiled, awaiting my compliment.

"Yes?"

"You look tired. Maybe we should go to bed now." I sighed. 

"Yeah, okay," I said, quietly, playing with the folds in my dress. 

More silence.

"Arden?" Now I was pissed.

"What, Link, What?!"

"I had fun tonight."

"Me too." Why was he all of a sudden at a lack of words? Suddenly, it clicked. He was trying to get rid of me! I should have known. 'Arden, you look tired,' 'Arden, you should go to bed.' That bastard! He wanted to get rid of me so he could go spend time with Zelda. I sighed again. We reached our doors, and I turned to Link.

*Link*

How could I tell her how I really felt? And why was she so quiet? Did Sheik talk to her? Is she pretending to be tired so I'll go to bed and then she can go and fool around with him? No, it couldn't be, could it? Then what would be the point of me telling her what I really think of her?

"Goodnight, Link," she said with a smile. I watched her disappear into her room and shut the door. I wandered into my room, and collapsed on the bed. Jeez, just when you think you know someone, this happens. Oh well. I don't think I should lose sleep over it. I closed the door to the bathroom connecting our rooms, and shut the glass doors to the balcony. After closing the curtains and undressing, I got into bed, and shut my eyes. It seemed no sooner than when my head hit the pillow, I was woken up by the sounds of laughter and talking. I sat up in the darkness, and listened carefully. There were two people talking, and they were both female. I could tell one was Arden's voice, and the other had a strange accent. Must be Helga…or Hilda, whatever that lady's name is. So that means that she wasn't with Sheik, and that she wasn't trying to get rid of me! I should have known.

 I got up and quietly crept to the door. The light that was shining from underneath the door was my guiding path. I carefully put my ear to the door, and I could hear what they were saying.

"Don't burn yourself on zee water, dear," I heard Hilda say.

"Yeah yeah, now turn around." That was Arden. I heard someone leave the room, then the sound of clothing hitting the floor. A searing wave of excitement flowed throughout my body and out through my extremities. I didn't want to be a pervert, but I couldn't get the thoughts of Arden alone in a tub out of my mind. It grew silent again, so I slowly pushed the door open. There were candles lit around the massive tub, and I could see Arden's dress on the floor, but I didn't see Arden.

"Here is a towel for you child." Shit, Hilda was back! She saw me before I had a chance to run. "OH MY GODDESSES! AAH! HELP! HELP! PEEPING TOM! PEEPING…"

"Lady, calm yourself!" I screamed, rushing to her. I covered her big mouth, and then Arden's head popped out from under the bubbles.

"Link?!" she cried. I turned a nice shade of lobster red.

"Arden…I…uh…"

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh…I…uh…"

"He vas looking at you, dear! Call zee guards!" Arden looked at me, then at Hilda, and then cracked up.

"You…and…she thought!!!" she gleefully shrieked. 

"Child, do you know ziz pig?" Hilda asked, shooting me a horrible look.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, you can leave now, g'night, Hilda," she said, waving her out. She left with a puzzled expression on her mug. "Close that please?" she asked me. I obeyed, and then stood in front of the tub. I couldn't see anything because of the bubbles, but I don't think it mattered, anyway.

"I'm sorry about this," I said meekly, looking away from her hypnotizing stare.

"Don't worry, but, why did you come here in the first place?" Oh shit. Need an excuse. Fast.

"I…uh…had to go to the bathroom."

"Like hell you did," she said with a smirk on her face.

"Alright then, I wanted to take a bath." There. That should do it.

"In the middle of the night?" Maybe not.

"Well, aren't you?" She was quiet a minute.

"Good point."

"Well, why are you taking a bath right now?" I asked, leaning up against the wall. It was cold. I had forgotten that I wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Cause I felt like it? I dunno. Pass me that bottle?" she asked, nodding towards a bottle at the end of the sink. I handed it to her.

"What would you do without me?" I said playfully.

"Call Hilda," she said, and began to wash her hair.

"Figures. Uh…can I join?" I joked. She laughed, then stopped abruptly.

"No."

"Okay. Well then, good night," I said, slowly heading towards the exit.

"Wait! You can stay and talk, if you want, of course." Of course I wanted to stay. But I had to play it cool, though, so I just shrugged. It was quiet.

"So…uh…" I said, shifting my weight back and forth. I continued to watch her as she bathed. She was so beautiful, and I couldn't even see anything…

"Don't worry, I'm almost done," she said, starting to rinse off. Damnit, I didn't want her to be.

"Alright." Why was I all of a sudden at a lack of words when I was around her? I though about yesterday, when we were just outside of Gerudo Valley. She almost kissed me then, didn't she? Does she feel the same as I do? I highly doubt it. No. Definitely not.

"Mind handing me that towel?" I snapped back into reality.

"Huh?" She pointed to a folded towel on the floor. "Oh, yeah," I said, and handed it to her.

"Turn around?" she asked sweetly, and I did. I looked around the room, and noticed that there was a mirror on the wall. So tempting…must…not…look…damnit, Link, you're awful. I saw only her back before she wrapped a towel around her slender body. I watched her grab another towel and squeeze out her hair, then turn around. "Alright," she said. I turned around, and she was smiling. 

"What?" Her look had me puzzled.

"Oh, nothing," she said, then walked into her room. "I'll be right out!" I heard her shout. I walked back into my room, and lit some candles. I was up this late, mind as well stay up.

*Arden*

I put on some clothes, grabbed a hairbrush, and walked into Link's room. I didn't see him in the room, so I checked the balcony. Sure enough, he was sitting on the ledge, looking off into the horizon. Should I flirt? Eh, what the heck, mind as well.

"Hey sexy," I said, growing a bit more daring. He looked at me, smiled, and then looked away again. "What's 'a matter?" I asked, twirling a wet lock of hair around my finger. I heard him sigh.

"Nothing," he said.

"There's got to be something bugging you," I reasoned. He didn't say anything. What did I do this time?

"Don't worry, Arden, it's not you. It's me." I thought a minute, then walked up besides him.

"You're never sad, buddy, what's wrong?" I asked. Now I was concerned. 

"Nothing," he said, standing. I had forgotten how tall he was. He towered over me, flashing that cocky, irresistible smile. I almost melted into a puddle on the floor right there.

"You sure?" I asked, pulling him closer to me. Although he had his shirt off, he was still warm, and his heat radiated onto me.

"Positive," he said, pulling me into a hug. I got that familiar smell of deep woods again, closed my eyes, and took it all in. I felt safe, for once, in his arms. At that point I realized how sleepy I actually was.

"Let's go in. I'm cold," I said, although it was a lie. We walked inside, and he shut the doors. The room seemed cozy, as cozy as a castle could get. It hurt me so bad inside knowing that I felt so much affection for him, but he loved Zelda. I sat down on his bed with a sigh. He sat next to me. Well, this was it. It was either now or never. "Link?"

"Hmm?" he replied.

"I…uh, well do you…uhm…"

"What is it?"

"If you love Zelda, tell me, and I'll stay out of your way. Because I don't want to ruin anything that you had, y'know, I don't want to crash your party, so…"

"Love Zelda?"

"Yeah, and I won't get in your way," I said, getting up. "Goodnight, Link," I said hastily. He grasped my arm and pulled me back down next to him. 

"I don't love Zelda!" he exclaimed, laughing. I think I turned six different shades of red then. Good thing the room was dim so he didn't see it happening.

"You…you don't?" I asked, dumbfounded. 

"Hell no!"

"But…I saw you two kissing today! You can't hide something like that from me!" I cried, jumping up. Link made a really weird face.

"Ohh," he said slowly, stroking his chin. Then he shook his head.

"What?!" I exclaimed, ready to flip my lid. He started laughing again.

"No, I don't love Zelda at all! She kissed me today because she can't grasp the fact that it's over between us. Whatever I felt for her in the past is over. So don't worry about getting in "our way," because there is no "our way." Actually, if she ever gets close like that again," he said, shuddering, "I want you to get in the way." I smiled, and jumped on him.

"Oh, praise the Lord!" I exclaimed. He didn't love Zelda!

"Oof!" he exclaimed, pushing me up a bit. "Why did you care? Do you like me or something? Huh? Huh?!" he teased. I blushed a bit.

"No!" I cried, sitting up on his stomach.

"Yeah you do! You _love me you want to __hug me you want to__ kiss me," he yelled, squirming underneath me._

"No I don't!" I exclaimed, slugging him across the jaw.

"Ow! Yes you do!" he screeched, flipping me under him.

"NO I DON'T!" I yelled, flailing my arms and legs. We fought, yeah, I know, again. But it was what we were good at. This time it included ass grabbing, biting, the whole nine yards! He, of course, had the upper hand, but I didn't care. We finally stopped after a while, and collapsed into a heap on his bed. I remember falling asleep to the rough, manly sound of his breathing.

Woo! Two chapters in two days! I'm on a roll! Review and tell me whatcha think. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

Woohoo! Chapter 10! I've finally reached double digits! I had no clue that I'd ever make it this far. EVER! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! They make me soooo happy, and when I'm happy, I write! Thank you so much to everyone! Alright, enough crap, let's go with chapter 10!

Disclaimer: Blah, yeah, I don't own Zelda.

*Arden*

I was awake. I knew I was awake. But I couldn't move. And it was dark. And it was hard to breathe. But I was warm, and that was nice. I could feel bare skin on top of mine, and then I remembered fighting Link last night. I smiled. I smiled because we had so much fun. I smiled because I knew we were friends.

I smiled because I loved him.

I tried to move, but he was lying diagonally across me. I felt his bare, rising stomach and chest against mine, and I felt that my shirt had been pushed up past my bra. Jeez, we must've been seriously getting into that fight last night. I kinda wanted to be able to move, so I woke him up. Well, I tried to wake him up.

"Link," I whispered softly. "Link, baby, get up." There was silence. "C'mon, Link, please move," I asked, shaking him gently. He grunted.

"Mmmkay," he said, and moved completely on top of me. I sighed, and gave up. No use fighting the inevitable. I was still sleepy, and kept nodding in and out of light naps. Link's head was next to mine, half resting on the pillow and half resting on my shoulder. I put my hands on Link's back, not realizing what I was getting myself into. I slowly began to stroke his back, unaware as to why. My fingertips glided across his well-defined masculine curves and the strong ripples of his muscles, down his spine and then back up to his shoulders. I heard him sigh, but I knew he wasn't fully awake yet. I stopped briefly, and he moved, I think in discontent. When I started again, he buried his face into my neck, and wrapped his arms around my upper body. 

"Mmm…Arden…" When he said this, I switched from using my fingertips to using my nails, tenderly skimming them down his smooth, sleek back. When I started to give his back and shoulders a massage, he groaned again, louder this time, and held me tighter. I continued, slowly, methodically. He shifted a bit, and that's when I felt something hard graze my inner thigh. I stopped abruptly, a bit shaken. Whoah, this situation could get dangerous. So I just placed my hands down on his back, and drifted back into a quiet, guiltless sleep.

~*~*~

"VAKE UP, BOTH OF YOU!" 

It was Hilda. Hilda was screaming.

Hilda was screaming and beating us with a pillow.

"VAKE UP! VAKE UP ZIZ INZTANT!" she bellowed, continuing the pounding. "ACK! GET OFF HER YOU PIG! ACK! GET UP NOW!" Link flipped off of me and fell onto the floor. I was cold now, damnit, and I curled up into a ball on his bed.

"Nooo…go away," I whined, trying to hide from the beastly woman. I opened my eyes, and saw her shuffle over to where Link fell on the ground.

"YOU PIG!" she exclaimed, persisting with the hammering, "HOW COULD YOU DO ZUCH A GHAZTLY ZING TO ZUCH AN INNOZENT GIRL!" I flew out of the bed, my Irish temper pushed past its limit.

"HILDA, CALM YOUR 'ROIDS!" I screamed, lunging at her. Link was moaning, and he damn well had a right to! I ripped the pillow from her hand. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" She looked at me, puzzled.

"Child," she started, a bit calmer, "I zought zat…"

"You thought what? That he raped me? Jesus, Hilda, I have my clothes on! Look!" I pulled at my shirt and shorts. "Clothes!"

"Yez, I zee zem," she said. By this time, Link was standing, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Why did you wake us up?!" I was steaming by this point, I think.

"I…vell…you two looked so promiscuous lying zere like zat, and I hated to zink zat you and he…"

"What? Did the nasty? Fooled around? Had sex?"

"Don't zay zat…"

"What? Sex? It's not a sin to say it! Everyone will do it sometime in their life!"

"Child, please--"

"I'll say it if I want to! Sex!"

"Ztop ziz!"

"Sex!!"

"ZTOP ZIZ AT ONCE!"

"SEX!!!"

Hilda grew silent, and had this deranged look on her face, like she was ready to kill. She stormed off in a huff, and I turned to Link. He had some sort of seductive grin on his face, and I blushed when we made eye contact. We then cracked up at the same time. We laughed and laughed, until our sides hurt and we were coughing and gasping for air.

"Her face…did you see her face?!" Link exclaimed inbetween fits of laughter. I nodded vigorously.

"Oh yeah! She looked like…" I gasped for air. "She was so shocked…and…woo!" I had to sit down and put my head between my knees. Link came over and briefly gave my back a rub. I almost panicked. Did he remember what had happened earlier? I hope not, cause I would never be able to live it down. I sat up and smiled at him. 

"Alright, _sexy," he joked, "get outta my room so we can hurry up and leave already." I stood up, and pushed his bare chest._

"It was your idea to come here," I reasoned, dodging his fist.

"I don't care. Get out, unless you wanna see what the doctors saw," he said, walking over to where his clothes and armor were piled up.

"That might not be so bad," I said, smirking.

"Shut up," he said, and pushed me out the door. I sighed, and walked back into my room. Hilda was in there, hanging up clothes, still beet red. She wouldn't even look at me. I kinda felt bad.

"Hilda, I'm sorry," I said as compassionately as possible. "I was out of line…I just get ticked off easily and--"

"Oh, Child, come here," she said, arms open. I walked up to her and gave her a hug. "I zhouldn't have jumped to conclusions, and I won't pick on your boyfriend anymore."

"He's not my boyfriend," I protested.

"Yet you zleep wiz him?"

"We didn't sleep together, we were just together when we slept…"

"Uh-huh. Vell, Child, it's been vonderful. Come back and vizit zee castle if you get a chance," she said, heading towards the door.

"Bye Hilda," I said, watching her disappear. I spotted my clothes, folded on the bed, so I took my shirt off and walked over. Just as I began to pull my shorts down, I heard a low whistle from behind be.

"Arden, wow," I heard a deep, familiar voice say. I whipped around to see Link's tall, well-built figure leaning against the doorway. I crossed my arms and shot him an evil look. 

"Get. Out." He grinned, and walked out the way he came in. I got dressed in a hurry, slapped my armor on, and walked into his room. His nose was buried in a book, and I coughed to get his attention. He looked up and gave me that charming, boyish smile.

"Come on, let's go get some grub," he said, putting his arm around my waist. We walked down the grand staircase and into the kitchen. We stocked up on fruit, bread, and juices, and then headed back into the throne room.

"Ah, look, dear," Zelda said out loud to Sheik, "look who's decided to grace us with their presence!" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. I shot her a fake smile.

"Good morning, Link and Arden. I trust you slept well, if you even slept at all," Sheik said with a sly grin on his face.

"We weren't sure what exactly Link was doing to you last night, Miss Arden! All we could hear were your screams--"

"No doubt screams of pleasure," Sheik added. I blushed, and looked away from their piercing stares. Then I thought of something, and smiled evily to myself.

"Yeah, screams of pleasure…hmm, Sheik, maybe you should ask Link for a few pointers on that subject, cause, y'know the Princess over there," I said, nodding towards Zelda, "the only thing she'll be screaming for is a bigger, oh, you know," I said, and smirked, content with my witty comeback. 

"A bigger…sized…crown," Link said, slowly, holding back his laughter.

"Of course!" I said, faking another smile. They both looked mortified, and I felt that I had done enough damage. For now…

I watched Link bow to them, hastily, and then took my hand. 

"Thank-you for your hospitality," Link said harshly, turning away from the haughty monarchs. I didn't even smile at them; I just followed Link out on his heels. He grabbed Epona by the reigns, and we mounted her at the same time. Once we reached Hyrule Field again, he slowed Epona, and we dismounted by the river. "Arden?"

"Hmm?"

"Arden, you alright? Your hand was shaking when I held it a minute ago," Link said, walking towards me. I turned around to face him, and I nodded, with a sly grin on my face.

"Mhm."

"Don't listen to them. They've got their heads so far up their asses that they don't even know how to be polite," he said with a smile. "And plus, if you really were screaming in ecstasy, in pleasure, and you were with me, the whole castle would have known it." I cracked up, and hugged him.

"That's bullshit!" I exclaimed, wrapping my legs around him as he picked me up. He continued to hold me, and I moved so our faces were in front of eachother.

"No, it's the truth! I have that power over women," he said cockily.

"Right, and what women have you been with before?" 

"I…uh…well," he stuttered. "Damnit!" he said, and dropped me. I stumbled and regained my balance. But I knew he was right. I knew he would be able to blow me away.

"Alright, then, you sex god you, what's next?" He whistled for Epona and then jumped on.

"Come on, I'll show you," he replied, pulling me up. I grasped his waist and we sped off through Hyrule field.

*Sigh* I'm tired now…and Nocturne of Shadow, check your mail, lol. Thanks for all your kind reviews, and I'll try to get the next chapter up A.S.A.P!


	11. Chapter 11

I've got an hour (more or less) free to myself with no interruptions! *Weird voice from nowhere* Can she do it ladies and gentlemen? *looks around* Anyways…thank you so much, my rabid fanfiction readers! You mean the world to me! 

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda so don't sue me!

*Arden*

I watched the trees fly past us as we flew through the field at an extremely fast pace. I still didn't know where we were going. (Random author note: It's really really REALLY hard to talk on the phone, check your mail, write a story, and listen to System of a Down all at the same time…anyone that can do it successfully and report it gets a prize…lol.)

"Link?" I asked as we started to slow down near the entrance to Gerudo Valley.

"Huh?" he replied, continuing to focus on the direction we were traveling.

"Where we going?"

"You'll see," he teased, elbowing me right in the boob. I don't think he meant to hit me there, but that's where he did.

"Ow! Jeez, watch it, man!" I exclaimed, holding my bruised area. I heard him chuckle.

"Hmm, whoops?" he said, slowing Epona even more. 

"Jerk," I said, pinching him. Why did I only pinch him? No clue.

"Aww, baby, want me to rub it for you?" he said with a snicker. Okay, I hit him hard that time.

"You wish," I retorted, folding my arms across my chest.

"Hmm, yeah," he said, and I could tell he was smiling. Although I couldn't see it, I could feel that grin.

"You still haven't told me where we're going," I whined, watching him carefully lead Epona across the bridge. We were at the canyon again, where we jumped last time. We continued on, past the big white tent, and through the entrance to the fortress. I was beginning to get a bit nervous, because of what Link had said earlier about the Gerudos. 

"Yeah, yeah," he said, totally ignoring the comment I just made. "Arden, be a peach and open up my bag there?" he said, motioning to a small-sized bag hanging off of Epona's saddle. I did so, and began to search through it.

"A peach?" I repeated outloud, rummaging through his bag. Boy, there was a lot of crap in there: some more money, weird tools, a folded up piece of paper, some flint…man, this guy had it all.

"Yeah, but you're more like a sour peach," he said, chuckling at his lame joke. I didn't laugh.

"Right. Okay. What the fuck do you want out of it?" 

"See a folded piece of paper anywhere within that thing?" he asked, bringing Epona to a halt. I held up the paper I saw before. "Yep, that's it," he said, snatching it out of my hands.

"You're welcome," I said sarcastically, tying the bag back onto Epona. He just grunted. "What is that for, anyways?"

"Oh, it just determines whether we remain free or not in this place," he said, disturbingly cheerily. Then I remembered the Gerudo's letter in the game. He didn't have to say anymore. We trotted up to where the big gate was, Link holding the letter out in plain sight so we didn't get in trouble. That's when I saw all the Gerudo guards. There seemed to be hundreds of them, pacing around, keeping watch on the massive fortress. They were all beautiful, no doubt, with golden eyes, dark, tanned skin, and deep red hair. I was a bit jealous, nonetheless, because they were all physically fit, too, each and every one of them. 

"Permission to enter the desert, please," Link said to the guard at the gate. She was wearing white, and had a shorter haircut than the rest of them. Probably higher up in the chain.

"Let me see your papers," the lady grunted. She had a strange accent, almost Arabic sounding. She seemed very cold as well, not temperature cold, but cold in spirit. Link held out the old, tattered paper.

"Hmm," she said, briefly looking up at us, then looking back at the paper. "This seems a bit old," she said skeptically.

"It is, but it's valid," Link said confidently.

"Hmm." She kept silent, looking over the edge of the paper and at…me.

"Well?" Link asked, his confidence fading.

"This was signed by Nabooru, yes, but the other signature is by our old leader. We have a new ruler now," she said, handing the paper back to Link.

"But…Nabooru is head of you all!" Link exclaimed, not believing what he was hearing.

"Yeah, right, in theory," she shot back. "Yeah, she's supposedly our leader, you know, the one who takes care of us. But ever since she became a sage, we haven't seen her. Not once. Not even a letter. So, we felt that it was time to elect a new leader, so we killed the old one and elected Queen Navala as our sole leader. We don't even consider Nabooru to be a Gerudo anymore, so this paper isn't valid. Access denied." Link was speechless.

"Killed?" I whispered, and immediately regretted it. I just thought that was so horrible, I couldn't believe it.

"Yeah! Killed!" she yelled harshly. "What's 'a matter, sweetcheeks, that too harsh for your big goofy Hylian ears?" That ticked me off.

"I'm not Hylian!" I roared back, lifting up my hair, exposing my ears.

"Yeah, mhm," she said, crossing her arms. "Now, get out, before I call more guards to take you two away," she said, pointing towards the exit. Epona reared, nearly knocking the woman over, which made me feel good. But it's a good thing Link was strong, cause I grabbed onto him for dear life. We raced out of there and back into the canyon. Link then stopped, and dismounted Epona. He walked over to the edge of the cliff, and didn't say a word. I felt bad for the old chap. I jumped off Epona and walked up to him. 

"Link," I said calmly, quietly, "Link, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he murmured, and crossed his arms, looking away from me. 

"I know, but I feel bad. They were your friends, weren't they?" He was still and noiseless. "Come on, buddy, cheer up. You still got me," I joked, trying to get some life back into him. He shook his head and chuckled, turning to me.

"Gee, how wonderful," he said sarcastically, looking down into my face. 

"Hey, I didn't deserve that," I whispered as he drew nearer and nearer. He put his arms around me, and I got butterflies in my stomach. We were so close now that I could feel his breath almost kissing mine. I was shaking, I could tell. Whether it was out of nervousness or out of excitement, I wasn't sure. He held me though, he held me tight, and I felt safe. Just before our lips were going to lock, he pulled me up into a hug. I was a bit disappointed, and I looked around at all the scenery behind him, confused as the day was long. We pulled apart, both blushing, and Link whipped out his ocarina. 

"Come here," he said, nodding to me. I obeyed, and he took my hands and placed them around his waist. I held him close, and he began to play the Requiem of Spirit. Lights began to circle around us again like when we went to the Shadow Temple, only this time they were golden. We were soon whipped out of there, but this time I kept my eyes open. I watched as we traveled over the fortress, then over a vast desert, then next to a gigantic building. We came to an abrupt halt, and then were gently placed down. I looked around, and realized that we were at the Desert Colossus. I looked up at Link, and smiled. He smiled back, and felt like butter melting in a pan.

"That was cool," I said, squeezing him tighter. He grinned.

"Are you ever going to let go of me, or are we just gunna stand here all day?" I blushed, and pulled away quickly. 

"Sorry," I mumbled. He laughed.

"Come on," he said, taking my hand and leading me to the end of the platform. "Now, the desert is very dangerous, things pop out of the sand and try to kill you," he said with a twisted smile on his mug.

"How nice," I said cynically.

"Mmm," he replied, nodding. "Now, you're actually going to be able to use your sword, and dazzle me with your swordsmanship skills you told me about." Huh? Swordsmanship? Ohh…I told him about my fencing experiences at the prep…oh boy, this could get interesting…

"Oh, uh—yeah," I said, pulling out my sword. He pulled out his, and his shield. I copied his example, but still, it was uncomfortable. He certainly looked powerful like that…and strong…and attractive…Goddamnit why was I swooning?! I had to shake myself out of it and focus on the situation at hand.

"Usually, I just run across to the platform over there, and avoid them at all costs," he said. "Ready?" I nodded. "Go!" We sprinted across the sand, and heard the things popping up behind us. I increased my pace, and we reached the platform at the same time. I turned around, panting, and laughed at the weird things trying to get us.

"They look like cactuses!" I cried, laughing harder. He stabbed one, and it died on the spot.

"Come on," he said, and walked up the stairs to the entrance to the temple. I gawked at its immense size once we were inside. "Welcome to the Spirit Temple," he said, putting his sword and shield away. I copied him.

"Oooooh," I said, gazing at the high ceilings and massive statues.

"There shouldn't be too much evil here," he said, carefully observing the atmosphere around us. "Most of it should have left when I defeated the two witches," he stated.

"That's reassuring," I replied, venturing further away from him.

"Still," he said, and paused, "be on your guard." Sheesh. Mr. Serious over there. I walked up to the giant snake statues, and looked at the writing engraved in it. It was in another language, and there was no way in hell I could decipher it. Link walked up the stairs, and he led me deep into the temple.

"Link, I have a question," I said, gawking at all that was around me.

"Yes?"

"Link, why did you bring me here if it was so dangerous?" I asked as we walked through a massive doorway. We had entered the room with the giant snake lady. I looked at him, and he shrugged.

"I dunno, I thought it was a cool place, and it's not _that dangerous, and I dunno…I guess I just wanted to share this greatness and beauty with you." Well, that was sweet, and I felt flattered. Now I needed a nice response._

"Oh." I blew it. "Thank you," I said, and continued to follow him. We eventually got to the rooms where the mirror shield needed to be used, but since he already did that before, we just went right through. As we got further and further into the temple, we heard music getting louder and louder. I recognized it as the music within the game, but it sounded much better in real life. "Do you hear that?" He turned to me, and listened.

"I hear nothing." I got a little scared.

"You don't hear that music?"

"Oh! Yeah! The music…course I do. But after a while, I just don't notice it anymore," he said, starting to walk again.

"Okay, good." Now I felt better because I knew I wasn't going crazy. Well, the Spirit Temple sure was fascinating and beautiful, but I was starting to get bored. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I decided to stir things up a 'lil bit. _Okay, Arden, think. He's walking ahead of you…try not to look at his ass…too late…c'mon girl, you need courage…Okay, my pep-talk to myself sucked, but it helped. I ran behind him and slapped his ass, then ducked behind a massive statue we were walking past._

"Hey!" I heard Link cry. I had to stifle my laughter. "Alright, Arden, you're gunna get it this time!" he shouted, dashing behind the statue. I ran away in the opposite direction as fast as I could, but he was right on my ass, heh heh, the whole time. (Not literally, but you get the picture.) That was a stupid move, though, cause I just backed myself into a corner. I tried to smile as innocently as possible, to try and get away…but with no success. I knew I wouldn't be able to get past Link, even if I tried. I wonder what his opponents must feel like. Must be bad…

"Hi, Link," I squeaked, trying to get him to back away.

"Arden, you dirty little tramp," he said, walking closer. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"Man whore," I replied, snickering.

"I told you not to mess with me," he said, moving nearer. He pushed me against the wall, and pinned me there. I was beginning to get nervous. Just go along with it.

"And I did. Now what are you gunna do, huh?" I said, a bit shakily and not as confidently as I would have liked it to be. He didn't reply. Okay, now I was creeped out, having those usually clear blue orbs cloud over, piercing into mine.

"You don't even wanna know what I'm gunna do," he said, intensifying the pressure on my shoulders. They were beginning to go numb. "Do you wanna get away from me right now?" he asked gravely with a sick smile on his face. I winced.

"Uh-huh," I replied.

"Wanna…go far away, so I can't scare you anymore?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Wanna go far away so I can't hurt you?" he said, even more menacingly than before. I swallowed hard.

"Link…"

"Wanna go far away so I can't…throw you up over my shoulders and run around?!" he screamed, and picked me up. I sighed with relief, then started flailing.

"Damnit, Link, you bastard, put me down!" That only made him run faster. "You bitch! Stop it!" I flailed harder. "PUT ME DOWN!" He started laughing. We ran, well actually he ran with me on him, through the temple and towards the entrance, my screaming and his laughter echoing all through the place. Once we reached the red carpet, I flung myself off of him, knocking him over and giving me just enough time to get up and run. Once he was up, I was ready; I had my fists clenched and a deadly smile on my face. 

"Oooh, tough girl," he said, advancing towards me. I glared at him.

"Your worst nightmare." He grinned.

"That's what I love about you," he said, inching closer. "You're so dangerous and unpredictable, it sometimes scares me." I smiled to myself. I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was _that good. (Just kidding…)_

"Oh really?" I replied.

"Oh yeah. But right now, I'm predicting what's going to happen, baby," he said, with a twisted smirk on his face. I crossed my arms. "And it's kinda turning me on," he said finally. I watched his eyes dart all over my body. What a dork. He actually thinks he's going to get some.

"Right," I said skeptically. "And what exactly is going to happen?" I asked, as seductively as possible. He just grinned. Then his grin disappeared.

"We're going to fight!" he exclaimed, lunging at me, catching me completely off guard.

"Aah! You prick!" I cried, dodging him. I turned around, and we got into a fight, for the…third time is it? Maybe the fourth! Well, anyways, we fought and we fought and we fought. And we made a lot of noise. And we screamed. And we laughed. And we made that scuffling noise that you hear on the movies. Yep. All of that good stuff.

"You are so sexy!" he cried, punching me in the gut. I doubled over, and kneed him where the sun doesn't shine. He made a funny noise, then topped over, holding himself. I didn't feel like losing this time, and I didn't!

"No, Link, you're the sexy one," I said, laughing. I heard him whine.

"My babymakers," he said, glaring up at me. I just laughed harder.

"Want me to rub it for you?!" I exclaimed, using the same line that he used earlier. He stood up, arms crossed, pout on his mug. I was content. I had won. Then he gave me those irresistible puppy dog eyes, and I tried not to fall for it, but I did. "Don't look at me like that!" 

"Baby, you hurt my feelings!" 

"Since when am I your baby?"

"You hurt me, right here," he said, covering his heart, and moving closer.

"Stop your blubbering," I said.

"How could you hurt me here?" he cried, still inching closer.

"Suck it up," I replied harshly. He grabbed my hand, and put it over his heart.

"Right here." I could feel it beating. I looked up, and saw him smiling. He pulled me closer and closer, like when we were in the canyon. I wrapped my arms around him, and I knew I was going to get a kiss this time. I closed my eyes, and moved in, only to briefly touch something cold. Then I heard the Prelude of Light being played, and I knew he was playing the ocarina instead of kissing me. I sighed as we were lifted up and out of the temple in a swirling golden-yellow light.

Okay, that's enough, lol. There will be more soon, so just be patient! Thanks again!


	12. Chapter 12

Hiya peeps! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack! (Like you all wanted me to come back and say hi. Yeah. Right. You're in it just for Arden and Link, aren't you! Don't lie! I see your lies! And I also see dead people…no I don't.) Some people have said that they want Link to kiss someone *coughcoughzeldaofhyrulecoughcough* and other have said that they want him to do…something else *coughcoughstormchildcoughcough.* Well, I dunno what's going to happen exactly in that area, cause I've never written anything like that before. I can do the kiss scenes fine, but I'm a novice when it comes to writing about doin' the nasty. But if it happens, it happens. You'll just have to wait and see!

Disclaimer: Huh?

*Arden*

We were gently placed down in the temple, and I let go of Link immediately. He put his ocarina away, and I gazed up at the temple's simple beauty. 

"Come on, Arden, let's go get Epona," Link said, and walked out of the temple. I followed him, arms crossed, looking down at the ground. I didn't know what to say—whether I should bring up the topic of how I was going to get home, or what else there is to do in Hyrule, or about Link and I. I wonder what's going on back at home now…probably still the same, mom and pop gone, the maids and butlers cleaning and keeping house, staying clear of my room, of course. I ordered them away so I could have peace and quiet. Hah, I wonder if they're worried about me. Probably not. Probably haven't even noticed that I was gone…that I am gone. How long have I been here? Two…three…four days? Let's see…the first day we got my stuff and went swimming, the second day was the jump and Lon Lon Ranch and the Shadow Temple and Hyrule castle, and the third day was today, leaving Hyrule castle and Gerudo Valley and the Spirit Temple. Wow, we've done a lot these past few days. Well, I guess I could consider Link my best friend now, since I don't really have any friends back home, cause they're all in it for my money. But Link met me when I didn't have anything 'cept the clothes on my back, and was still my friend. God, he's such a good guy. Not only is he handsome, but he's got a good heart and mind as well, which is very hard to find these days in guys. (Well, from my experiences, it is!) I looked up and watched him trod along. He had somewhat of a bounce in his step; always seemed to have energy. I then realized that I was dog-tired, slacking behind him as we continued along. We reached the field, but instead of calling Epona, he kept on walking. I sighed.

"Link, can't you just call Epona?" I whined, shuffling up to his fast pace.

"Why? We can walk. It's not that far," he said, continuing at his quick pace. I groaned.

"Yeah, but I'm tired. I'm not as strong as you are, and I don't have that much energy left." He made a whimpering noise, and I wanted to hit him, but I didn't. Too tired.

"Come on," he said. "Suck it up. You need to build stamina." Why? Why would I need that? 

"No I don't," I replied. 

"Want me to carry you?" he asked, giving me one of his sly grins. Jeez, I wasn't that tired.

"No," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. "No way." He raised his eyebrow up at me.

"Fine then. Suit yourself," he said, and continued walking. Man, I didn't want to sound that rude or mean.

"Link, I'm sorry," I said with an over-exasperated sigh.

"For what?" he said coyly. He damn well knew what for. Cripes, Arden, you get into these things yourself.

"For bein' a bitch," I said, and hugged his torso. I knew I blushed then, I felt it, but I didn't care. I think he was a little shocked because he didn't move, but he softened up after a few seconds. He put his arms around my waist.

"It's alright," he said, assuringly. I whined.

"No it's not. I'm a bitch all the time, and I have no reason to be," I reasoned, letting go of our embrace.

"Really, it's okay. I'm used to it by now," he said, laughing. Okay, now I have a reason to be a bitch! 

"Jerk!" I said, and pushed him. I ran away from him, through the field, but he caught up real quickly because I was so tired and sluggish. We just kept on running and pushing eachother until we reached the entrance to Gerudo Valley. When we entered there, our voices echoed twice as loud as before, but we didn't care. We were crossing the first bridge when out of nowhere Link started to tickle me, that crazy bastard. I, of course being ticklish every single friggin' place he put his hands upon, went nuts and burst into a fit of giggles, racing across the log thing. I tried to retaliate, but he was too strong and too quick, like usual. He sun was setting, and it created a pinkish-orange glow that filled the area. Kinda romantic, I know, but our fun was soon brought to a halt when we realized that Epona was missing. 

"Shit," he said, turning to me. "Where is she?" I had never seen him look so worried before.

"I dunno," I said with a shrug. "Maybe she went for a walk." Okay, dumb response, but what else am I supposed to say? We walked on a bit, and then we realized that we weren't alone in the canyon. There had been a whole slew of Gerudo guards lined up around the bridge, and there was a new gate up, blocking the area before the entrance to the fortress. Link fell silent, and drew his sword and shield. I didn't know what to do, so I did the same. He approached, cautiously. There were a few guards dressed in white, obviously running the show. As we drew nearer, one of the leaders spoke up.

"So you guys were the ones making all that racket the other night!" she screamed, almost laughing. Another one piped up.

"And here they are again!" she bellowed, roaring with laughter, just like the first.

"Who do you people think you are? Making noise! Disturbing the peace?!" the first one barked.

"Those Hylians," a third one scoffed. "They think they own the world." I couldn't believe what I was seeing—or hearing for that matter. Link spoke up.

"Why have you blocked the bridge?" he asked sternly, in a deep, anger-sounding voice. The only time I had heard side of him was when we first met, and he held that sword up to my neck.

"By orders of Queen Navala!" the second one shouted. "None shall pass." I think I heard Link growl.

"Why? How can we conduct our trading with your people if you have the entrance blocked?" Link hollered. The others just laughed.

"Maybe if you and your little girlfriend hadn't disturbed the peace," the first one started.

"Then maybe you wouldn't be in this situation right now!" the third one barked. Okay, that ticked me off. 

"Where's the horse!" I screamed. She just laughed.

"So, the little thing does have a voice!" she continued. Little? I wasn't little! I was definitely taller than all of them!

"Where is the fucking horse?!" I shouted, louder this time. They just laughed even more. Then we heard a neigh in the distance.

"Epona!" Link cried as they brought her out. She was across the bridge, behind all the guards.

"Oh, this horse?" the second one said.

"It's ours now," the first one said, chuckling to herself.

"Give me back my horse!" Link screamed, advancing towards them. The guards burst into ear-piercing cackles. 

"You were stupid enough to leave it here, so it's ours now!" the third one said, walking over to Epona and patting her, just to tease Link.

"But this is public grounds!" Link cried, his anger intensifying.

"Not anymore," the first one said. "The Queen runs a tight ship here now, so you can't leave your trash here anymore." Alright, that did it for me. I don't know how Link kept his cool, but he managed to do so. I didn't.

"You fucking piece of shit!" I cried as I ran at the first guard, sword raised. Epona was a beautiful creature, certainly not a piece of trash. And I think she was Link's best friend, well besides me, I hope…

"Arden!" Link bellowed, trying to stop me. But I was already too far ahead.

"GUARDS!" the second one screamed, raising her hand. I heard the clicks of crossbows being raised up, and I knew they were pointing at me. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Not so tough now, aren't 'cha?" the first one scoffed, moving out from behind a purple guard. Bitch. I could have taken her down if it wasn't fifty billion to one. I just growled.

"Come on, Arden," Link said, rather calmly, taking my arm.

"Now you two get out of here before I tell them to fire," the second one said sternly. I sighed, and let Link lead me out of there. This was the first time that I saw Link give up on something so quickly. Once we were out of the area and back into the field, I piped up.

"Damnit, Link, you should have let me kill her!" I whined, kicking a small stone across the field.

"No." Link said. "I would have liked to see you do it, but I don't want so see you get hurt, or killed."

"Why? Wouldn't it be a burden off your shoulders?" I said, half seriously and half sarcastically. He stopped and turned to me.

"How could you say that?" he said, grasping my shoulders. "Arden, you mean everything to me," he said, then blushed. The sun was almost completely set by now, but I could see the pink in his cheeks. The volume of his voice dropped, I think out of embarrassment. I was dumbfounded.

"Huh?" 

"I…um…Arden, you're…well…Arden…I…" Was he going to say it?! Those three words?! I almost pissed my pants. "Arden, you're my best friend, and I wouldn't be able to live without you." Well, not exactly what I was hoping for, but it was still breathtaking. 

"Link…" I started, then paused. "Link, I had no idea." He just looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry for offending you." He smiled. "But there's one thing I don't get," I said.

"What's that?" he said, letting go of me. 

"Why did you give up so easily? Usually you'd fight right then and there." He smiled again.

"I haven't given up. I'm just waiting for night to fall." Just then we heard a wolf cry, just like in the movies. I smiled.

"Oh! Then we can go in and get Epona?" I asked, starting to walk again. He nodded.

"But there's some stuff we need to get before we go. Remember that house is Kakariko that I said I owned?" I nodded. "Well, we're going there now!" he said, taking off like a rocket towards Kakariko. I followed as quickly as I could, and soon enough, we had reached the gates of the town.

Sorry I didn't get anything up over the weekend! I thought I was going to have time, but my relatives from O Canada came down for the entire Easter weekend. And I got the Tomb Raider movie that I said you all should see, so I've been watching that instead of writing…(I know I'm bad!) Oh! And I also got GameCube the other day, and I've been playing that too…so yeah! There are my excuses, even though they're not good ones…Well, if it takes me long to get chapters up, you guys will just have to wait. "Waaaaaaaaaaa." I know. Get over it. Toodles!


	13. Chapter 13

I'm back by popular demand! (Yeah, right…) Alright, I don't really have any comments today, so I'll just get right down to the story. Okay? Okay.

Disclaimer: *blinks* do you actually think I own Zelda?!

*Arden*

I tried real hard to keep up with Link as we scampered through Kakariko, I really did! But, I was tired, and I just stumbled along a good distance behind him. When I climbed the stairs to his house, I saw him trying to open a lock. He had a skeleton key in his hand, but the lock looked rusted. After a few seconds fiddling with it, he got it open, and swung the door open. We walked inside, and it was really dark. I couldn't really see anything through the dimness, but there was a lot of junk in there. He lit a torch thing on the wall with some sort of match, then brought a candle to it that he grabbed off the wooden table that was in the middle of the room. He then stood on the table and lit the candles on the shabby wooden chandelier. The room was brighter now, but still a bit dim. But I guess things would be without electricity.

"Here," he said, handing me a lit candle. "Light the wall torches around the room with me." I took it, and lit all the ones to the left, while he lit the ones to the right. It was just a big room, his house, but it had a second floor. It reminded me of a cabin or something, y'know, when you're roughing it out in the woods. There was a bed with a red blanket on it against the far right corner in the room. There were two wooden chairs on opposite ends of the table, and I saw tons of weapons strewn about. There were boots, shields, and swords galore, bows, arrows, knives, and more! (HAH! I MADE A RHYME IN TIME! Wow…I'm okay…really.) And the books! Oh, the books! There must have been five bookshelves in a row packed to the brim with books and papers and the like. I did notice that there was a fireplace and a sink, which made me feel a bit better about Link. I walked over and tried to turn the faucet on, but nothing came out. 

"Gross," I said, turning to Link. He was rummaging through boxes of crap.

"What?" he said, whirling around to face me. I made a face at the faucet. He laughed.

"Oh! I don't stay here, so I told them to turn the water off."

"Alright," I said. 

"And a nice full tub and toilet can be installed in a jiff, but I didn't see a need to because I'm never here," he reasoned, going back to digging through that box.

"Well you are now," I said, walking towards him. I pinched his ass as I walked by, then sat on the bed. He purred, but it didn't seem to faze him. The bed made crunchy noises as I shifted my weight on it, and I could tell that it was a straw mattress. It was kinda comfy, actually. I stood up and threw my weapons on the table, then curled up on the bed.

"Arden, I may be a while, so you can take a nap if you want to. I have some…um…late night errands to run," he said, now facing me. I was already half asleep, though.

"Mhm," I mumbled. I could hear him talking, but it was just murmurs to me.

*Link*

"I need to get some more supplies and stuff, just incase, you know?" I said to Arden. I heard her breathing steadily, heavily, and I knew she was asleep. I sighed. "Now, I'm just talking to myself. Standing here, talking to myself. You're a loser, Link," I said, shaking my head. I heard Arden giggle a bit, and I wondered if she was awake and heard what I said. She wasn't though, so I went back to digging through the box. I pulled out two of the sharpest and smallest knives I could find, and put them on the table. I also grabbed some rope off the wall. I had to dig through two more boxes to find my hookshot, but I did eventually find it, and I figured I'd give it to Arden to use, cause I had my longshot. I turned and looked at Arden. She was sleeping peacefully. 

"Arden, you're an angel when you're asleep," I whispered, walking over to her. The candles around the bed lit up just enough that I could make out her face. Her head was resting against one of my pillows, and her auburn hair was spread across it. I wanted to kiss her, so bad, and just lay there with her, but I didn't want to disturb her. I quietly went out of the room and out into the town. I knew only a few places would be open at this time of night, so I headed to the back of the village. Kakariko wasn't much of a village anymore, it had been growing by leaps and bounds. There was a bank there now, which is where I stopped first. I made a withdrawal, and then went over to the potion shop. I bought some new potions and re-stocked some of my older supplies. There's no way of telling what could happen when you mess with the Gerudos. I also re-filled my water supply on the way back, and picked some wild Hylian flowers that were growing in a corner. 

"For Arden," I said to myself, and walked back to the house. About an hour had passed since I left, and when I walked through the door, Arden was snoring. I held back my laughter, and threw the rest of the crap on the table. With the flowers in my hand, I walked up to a sleeping Arden. I shook her gently, but she didn't move. I shook her harder, and she mumbled something, and then turned over. I sighed, and started to talk.

"Arden! Arden, get up, sleepyhead!" I said, shaking her harder.

"No…" she mumbled, pushing me away. 

"Come on, Arden, it's time to go!" I said, louder this time.

"No!" she yelled. Goddesses, you know I love her, but she's a pain in the ass when you're trying to get her up.

"Come now, Arden!" I bellowed back, pulling her up.

"NO!" she screamed, and punched me, right where the sun doesn't shine. I don't think that she meant to hit me there, but that's where she hit. It hurt like a bastard. I doubled over onto the bed, curling up into a ball, trying to get rid of the pain. I think at that point she realized what she had done.

*Arden*

I heard him whimpering. Oh, boy, I had done it this time! I sat straight up, and put my hand on Link's back.

"Oh my God, Link, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you there…or that hard," I said, slowly rubbing his back. He was breathing heavily, and still moaning. "I'm really, really sorry!" I said sincerely. He sat up, and his face was red. I held back my laughter, and looked into his eyes. He was angry, I could tell, and embarrassed, but to my surprise, he hugged me. I hugged back. "I am really sorry," I said, squeezing him tighter.

"It's alright," he whispered. His voice was a bit hoarse. "I'll survive," he said. He just held me there, and I couldn't figure out why. We just sat there for the longest time, in each other's arms. I thought we had to go right away, but I think Link had changed his mind or something. He started to run his hands up and down my back, slowly, making sure he hit every single curve. He put his face into my neck, and with his strong hands, glided my hips onto his lap. He was sitting Indian-style, and I put my legs behind him. I didn't know what in hell he was doing, but I just sat there, and let him do what he wanted to me, like putty or clay. I felt his hands start to travel up and down my back again, harder this time, but not hurting in any way. He went all the way down to my rear, stopping briefly, then back up to my shoulders. He started to massage them, soft at first, then stronger and stronger. I felt like I was gunna melt, cause I loved getting my shoulders massaged, but I my attention was soon drawn to my neck again. I think I felt his lips against my skin, briefly, and then his breath again. What in the hell was he doing?! Or trying to do?! Trying to turn me on? Make me horny? Well, if he was, it was certainly working. I felt his hands move around to the front of my body, and then they traveled down, over my chest, massaging gently, and down my stomach. I let out a gasp when he reached the buckle to my tunic. Why was he doing this? I thought that we were going to save Epona! Yes! I must focus on saving Epona! But it's so hard!!! It feels soooo good!!!!

"Link," I said softly. "Link, baby, what are you doing?" Oh, Link, you have no idea…this is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you. "Link, I thought we had to leave." He groaned, and lifted his head off of my neck. He sighed.

"I know." I put my hands on his, which were over my belt buckle. "I'm sorry, I--"

"Shh," I said, and got up. "Don't worry about it." We geared up, in silence, and headed outside. It was pitch dark, and we could barely see anything in front of us. 

"Perfect," he said, and headed towards the exit. I grabbed onto his tunic for dear life. I couldn't see a gosh darn thing, but right at that point, all I wanted to see was Link. And maybe Epona…

"What's your plan?" I asked as we raced across the field. I wasn't as tired anymore, and I was able to keep up with his strenuous pace.

"We're going to sneak in, you first, just incase we get caught."

"Gee, thanks," I said, a bit sarcastically.

"No, no, trust me, it'll be for the better," he said, assuringly. "If we get caught, then you can make a bigger scene, giving me the chance to escape."

"Oh, great. So, basically I get fed to the dogs and you get out free. Sounds fair to me," I said, again with the sarcasm.

"Damnit, Arden, why do you always have to be so difficult?! If you get caught, I will be able to save you. If I got caught, would you be able to save me?" He had a point, but was he being sexist?

"Well, that is if I would want to save you," I retorted. He sighed.

"There's no time for fighting now. So, let's just see what happens, alright?" I sighed, too.

"Fine by me," I said, and continued to hustle towards the canyon. Once we reached the death zone, he told me to stay put and keep quiet. I did so, and I didn't complain for once, and he went off into the darkness. I heard two quiet cries of pain in the distance, then running back to my direction. I just hoped that it was Link that was coming towards me.

"C'mon, Arden, quick!" he whispered. I got up and followed him. "There's only a short amount of time before the two guards wake up and realized what hit them!" We ran to the edge of the cliff, and because of the gates on both of the sides, Link took out his longshot. I took out my hookshot. "That's not gunna make it," he said. "Come here," he whispered, demandingly. I obeyed, and he scooped me up. We flew across to the other side and through the entrance to the fortress. We stopped just before the long flight of stairs. 

"Phew," I said, leaning against the stone.

"Alright, now for the hard part," Link whispered.

"Hard part?!" I exclaimed.

"Shhh!" he scolded. "This place is crawling with guards. Now just shut up and listen." Jeez, he was never this harsh before. Maybe cause we were in a life or death situation. I decided to just keep my big mouth shut. We listened for a while, and then we heard a quiet neigh in the distance.

"Is that Epona?" I mouthed, barely letting any sound emit from my lips. He shook his head no.

"No, it's too high," he whispered. We listened for another five minutes or so. We heard another neigh, and Link said that it was Epona. He knew where she was in relation to the whole fortress, and had already set up a plan on how to retrieve her and escape before the sun even started to come up. I gotta hand it to him, he's got one smart mind, and really good hearing, too!

"So where are we going?" I said softly.

"There are guards about every ten feet in this place. Because it's so dark out tonight, they'll have a hard time seeing, so I'll go first, and you can stay ten feet behind me at all times, watching my back." I understood, and then nodded.

"What are you going to do about the guards?" I asked. 

"You'll see," he whispered, and unsheathed his sword. This is going to get pretty interesting! We crept silently up the side, and he knocked out one guard after another with the butt-end of his sword, much like he did to me. God, Link was so quiet and stealthy that he was able to sneak right up behind a guard and have her not even notice! Course, if it were me, I would have smelled that really good smell, (ladies, you know what I'm talking about!) that only guys have…you know! That aroma! (Yeah you do! Don't deny it!) Well anyways, I would have smelled that coming a mile away and caught him, especially Link, cause that boy smells so good, it's too hard to describe.

"Arden!" Link whispered from around the corner of the building. He brought me out of my girly thoughts. Damnit, and I was having fun, too! Well, anyways, I snuck up with him on two other guards, and we knocked them out at the same time. Big fun!

"Tee-hee," I whispered. Link smiled and shook his head. 

"Come on, you dork. Let's go so we can get the hell out of here," he said quietly, and headed up the hill at the back of the fortress. I followed, and there were no guards there, surprisingly. I thought it was too easy, but Link just rushed out to where Epona was. It was really quiet, and it something didn't seem right, but Link looked happy as he mounted his horse, and I didn't want to interfere. They were both joyful, I could tell, so I turned around to leave for a second and give them some space. When I turned, I had three swords being held up to my neck, and there was a whole army of Gerudos as far as the eye could see. 

I knew we were some serious shit this time.

"Nice try!" One of them said, cackling. I realized that they were the three from the bridge earlier today. 

"Yeah! It's too bad that your pretty boy over there was too busy with his horse to watch over you!" the second one said, laughing. 

"Let her go!" Link demanded from atop his horse. Yeah, yeah, please let me go! I motioned towards my sword, but they stopped me.

"Try it and you'll in a lot of pain," the third one said ominously. I dropped my hands at my side.

"Let her go! Your quarrel is with me!" Link screamed, pulling out his bow. He aimed an arrow at the first guard.

"If you do it," the first one said, "then you can kiss your precious little bitch here good-bye!" Link was silent, and he put his bow and arrow back. I gulped.

"Now, if you're a nice boy, nobody here will get hurt, is that understood?" the third one barked back at him. Link nodded.

"Now then," the first one said. "It's either going to be the girl or the horse. Your choice."

"What?!" Link exclaimed. "You can't possibly be serious!"

"Oh, I'm serious," the first one said. I was so scared that he was going to pick the horse. But I knew he would pick me, and I knew that we would soon we out again on the field, trying to figure out a new way to get Epona back. I focused back on his face. He looked into my eyes, then gave his answer.

"I'll take the horse." He said it coldly and cruelly. I wanted to die right then and there, right at that very moment. All the Gerudos started laughing.

"Alright then!" the second one said.

"Guess he likes his horse better than you, pretty!" the first guard said, howling with laughter. I couldn't even look at Link. 

"Guess so," I mumbled, solemnly. I wanted to cry, but I held my feelings in and toughed it out. I glared up at him as he was leaving.

"I'll come get you!" Link called as he raced out of the place. Yeah. Right. Use me to get the horse. Use me to get the horse to get rid of me. Well now, Linkypoo, your problem has been lifted off of your shoulders and into the hands of the devil. Now I truly know how he feels about me. I held back my tears as they shackled me and led me into the fortress.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's been a while, but tough cookies! And I'm going to leave you hanging there! I'll get the next one up when I get the next one up. And I'm not being bitter! I swear! I'm just tired…

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

Hey everyone! It's vacation for yours truly this week, so you know what that means! More time to write, which equals more chapters for your enjoyment!! Alright…here we go…chapter 14! Woohoo! 

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'.

*Arden*

That piece of shit left me here to rot.

"Move it faster, bitch, or we'll begin to cut off your extremities!" I quickened my pace a bit, but not much. The hallways were dark and damp, lit only by a few torches here or there on the walls. I couldn't believe that he took the horse over me. But, as I continued to think, I realized that I should just accept my fate instead of worrying about Link. The kid was obviously not worth it since he didn't give a shit about me. And I thought I loved him. Hah, love. Love sucks. Now, for the first time since I got to Hyrule, I wanted to go home. So bad. I wanted to be back in my room, with the comfort of my television and my bed and my couch and my Nintendo…wait. No. Scratch the last idea.

Note to self: When you get home, smash your Nintendo with a two by four.

"You're gunna love it here," the second guard said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Too bad I won't be here for long," I said confidently. They all laughed at me.

"Who's gunna save you? Your pretty boy on the horse? Listen, hun, your night in shining armor chose a horse over you. A horse!"

"Do you have to fucking rub it in?!" I yelled, lunging at her. They restrained me, and laughed again.

"Ooh, didn't like that, huh? I already found her weak spot," the second guard teased. "The boy!" Link? Fuck no. Not even close. Not anymore. Never, ever again will I fall in love. EVER.

"Heh, men," the first one scoffed.

"They're good for nothing," the first one added. 

"And they're gross," another guard piped in. Gross? Guys may be jerks, but they're not gross! Well, they can be, but not to look at and stuff…

"Women are so much better looking, don't you think so?" the second one asked me. What the fuck was this? 

"Hell no!" I retorted. We turned the corner, and there were two guards pressed up against the wall, sucking face. I almost vomited.

"Hey, hey now, back to your posts, ladies," the first one said, chuckling a bit. What type of place is this? A friggin' lesbian colony?! That's what it is! All women! All lesbians!

"What's 'a matter? Can't stand that stuff?" the second guard said, laughing at me again. Well, I totally respect gays, but this was ridiculous.

"Are you all…?" I asked, looking around at all the guards. They started laughing again.

"Well, just about," the third one said, smiling.

"Why?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"We're a race of women, sweekcheeks," the first one said, laughing.

"But…can't you go out and get boyfriends or anything?" I continued.

"No. The Queen wouldn't have it," the second one said.

"That's retarded," I said. "You guys should just quit." They laughed at me again.

"Honey, you can't quit being a Gerudo!" the first one said.

"So you instead choose to be gay. Okay, fine, just stay away from me." They laughed again.

"Well, we gotta pleasure ourselves somehow!" the third one said gleefully, giggling with the rest of them. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I just tuned it out as best I could.

We turned another corner, and went through a huge set of double doors. There was a red carpet leading from the door all the way up to a platform type thing where a single woman sat on a throne. We walked up to her, and everyone around me bowed. I didn't. No way in hell would I ever bow to _that._

"You've brought one of the intruders," she said, approvingly. I noticed that she had the same golden eyes as everyone else, but she had jet-black hair instead of red hair. It looked fake. She had on a golden suit, much more delicate looking than everyone else's. I knew I wasn't going to like this lady.

"Yes, the other one, um, had a choice to make," the first guard said. Snickers followed this comment.

"So we have her instead of the horse?" the Queen questioned. They all nodded. "Seems like a great trade to me."

"Can I go home now?" I whined. I was getting antsy. They all laughed again. "This place fuckin sucks," I said. 

"She's a bit feisty, isn't she?" the Queen said, laughing some more. 

"A little bit too feisty, if you ask me," the second one said. I growled at her.

"Nobody asked you," the Queen said. I snickered at her. "No matter, she'll make an excellent slave for me. I do say, though, you girls love those redheaded Hylians," she said, grinning evily. "First, that farm girl, and now her?" The guards smiled back at their queen. Malon? Did they hurt Malon?

"You better not have touched Malon, or I'll--"

"Or you'll what? Cough on us?" the Queen said, laughing with the rest of the bitches. "Don't worry. I can assure you, Malon enjoyed her stay here, right after the brainwashing, of course." Oh, man, wait till I tell Link about this one. He's gunna hit the roof—wait a minute. I'm never going to see Link again. Damn my stupid hopes!

"I'm not a Hylian!" I shouted over their laughter. 

"Sure you're not," the Queen said sarcastically.

"I'm not!" I cried. "Look at my ears!" The Queen got off of her fat ass and walked in front of me. She was a bit shorter than me, and had garlic breath. I felt like I was gunna hurl all over her. I kinda wished I did.

"Prove it," she said, crossing her arms.

"Look at my ears," I said. She lifted my hair off my neck, then dropped it down in a huff.

"Well, whatever you are," she said, placing her hand on my cheek, "you're certainly beautiful." I turned my head away from her with a jerk. This was disgusting. I wanted out. Now.

"Don't friggin touch me!" I barked. She didn't move.

"Yes, well, guards, I want you to take her away and get her dressed properly. We can't have her running around here with a sword now, can we? No. Now, off we go!" she said cheerily, sickeningly. "And make sure she gets the red outfit now," the Queen called as we exited the room. Stupid bitch.

*Link*

I raced out of there as fast as I could. I felt so bad for leaving Arden there, but I knew she was strong enough to survive a day without me in the fortress. I hope she's not going to be too mad at me for leaving her there alone, but I had my reasons. First off, Epona is much harder to sneak out of there, because she's a big dumb horse. Secondly, it would be easier to sneak Arden out of there because she's so much smaller and she understands English. Well, I do hope she's alright, and if my memory serves me correctly, the Gerudos lock their prisoners up instead of killing them. It's not really a nice thought, but it's more comforting than knowing she could be killed.

Epona and I raced to Lon Lon Ranch, the only place I knew Epona would be safe. We flew through the entrance and I jumped off Epona as she raced into the corral. As I ran back towards the entrance, I realized how tired I was. I knew that I should press on and rescue Arden, but I was so tired I could hardly stand. There was a soft glow coming from inside Malon's house, and I told myself that I would just stay for a minute and rest my eyes. Yes, just rest my eyes for a minute.

"Malon!" I called, pounding on the door. "Malon!" I heard a shuffling noise, then the door opened. Malon was barely dressed, and I got scared, but then I remembered that it was in the middle of the night and that I probably had woken her up.

"Link? Link, what are you doing here?" she asked, kind of sleepily.

"I…uh…Arden's in trouble, and…" Wow, I never noticed how good looking Malon was before. Her long red tresses cascaded down over her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled up into mine. Her white gown was tight and a bit see-through, and I couldn't help but look at her. No! I must remember why I'm here! Arden! Oh yeah, Arden kinda looks like Malon, except Malon is wearing less clothes now…

"Link?" 

"Hmm?"

"Link, you wanna come inside?" I nodded, and stumbled in. It was warm and inviting in there, and I sat down on a chair. "Link, buddy, you look tired. What's 'a matter?" I dunno, nothing's wrong…

"I…uh…" I was tired, so tired.

"Link, where's your friend? Arden, was that her name?" Arden! Damnit, Link, you bastard, you have to keep thinking about Arden!"

"Arden! Arden's in trouble! I have to save her!" I exclaimed, jumping up. Malon sait me down again. Her chest was right in front of my face. I think I started drooling.

"Not like that, you aren't," she said, commandingly. "You're going to stay here and rest a bit until you can keep your eyes open again. Is that understood?" Uh-huh, whatever you say, Malon…

"Yep." I think the rest of the night I slept with Malon in her bed, but we didn't do anything, cause I'd remember if we did. And she gave me some Lon Lon milk and I felt better after that, but I was so exhausted I couldn't remember anything. I remember falling asleep with Malon pressed up against me. I remember that cause it felt good. But I don't remember much else of that night.

*hiss* Link is a bad, bad boy! Yes, yes I know. See, I told you the Malon/weirdo thing would come back into the story! (See chapter 5.) Well, I'm off, catch y'all on the flip side!


	15. Chapter 15

Woo…chapter 15! Half way to thirty! (Will there be a chapter 30? Only God knows.) Well, I started reading The Shining by Stephen King, very cool so far. The little boy scares me, him and REDRUM. *shudders* Well, anyways, s'pose I should get crackin' on ch. 15, huh? Oh, and a thank you goes out to Lissa for proofreading my story a bit! 

Disclaimer: *sigh* look at the other chapter's disclaimers.

*Arden*

Not only do I have to be their slave, but I have to dress like Princess Jasmine, too! This bites the big one. They have me in this disgusting red getup, like in the scenes in "Aladdin" when Jafar had Princess Jasmine held captive when he's a sorcerer, (you know what I'm talking about.) It even has the curly shoes, too! I like the shoes…if I ever get out of here, I'm taking the shoes with me.

"Hurry up, wench, the Queen's waiting!" a guard said, pushing me towards another guard in white. She held a hairbrush, and I was held down as they combed out my hair and put it up. I hated this so much I wanted to scream. But I didn't; I would never want them to see me in pain, I knew they would enjoy it too much, sick fucks.

"Now come on!" the first guard said, whipping me out the door. Jeez, I was colder now. This outfit was a bit breezy. 

"Can I have my weapons back?" I asked, smirking. It was so much fun to piss these bitches off.

"No! Shut up!" the guard said, yanking my arm harder.

"Ow! Could you go easy, please?" I nagged, laughing to myself again. The guard didn't say anything. We walked through a large wooden door, and we were back in the throne room again, just through a different door.

"Ah, yes, thank you," the Queen said, grinning as I approached. The guards bowed, and stepped back to their posts. "Now, come here, child." I hesitated. "Don't be scared!" I have every damn right to be scared. Nonetheless, I walked up to her. She stood up, and smiled. "Now, don't you feel much better? You look better," she said, running a hand down my cheek. I pushed her back, violently. She regained her balance, and smiled. Guards approached quickly, but she waved them away. "Don't worry. I can handle this Hylian flower," she said, sitting back down. There was a giant pillow on the floor next to her throne. "Sit," she said, holding her hand out. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I sat down. I felt my back where they took my bandage off; it was almost all healed now. I sighed, and looked around the room. "Soon, you will call this place your home. Soon, you will learn to call me master," she said, confidently. I laughed.

"Soon, I will be out of here," I snapped, crossing my arms. She laughed. 

"Get me a drink, child, I'm thirsty," she said, shifting in her seat.

"Get it yourself, sloth," I retorted. She chuckled.

"Your rudeness will stop immediately," she said, motioning to her closest guards. They came right up to me, and stuck two very mean looking javelins at my neck. "Now, get me a drink." I obeyed, what else could I have done? I walked into the kitchen under the supervision of a few guards, and poured the wench a drink. I was able to look out a window, but all I saw was desert sand and rock. The sun was just beginning to rise, but the place still looked desolate. What a horrible place to live in, so boring and dry. I walked back out into the throne room and gave the Queen her precious drink. I sat back down, and waited for something to happen. I hadn't gotten any ideas on how or when I should escape, but I figured something would come to me eventually.

"Boy, it is a bit dull in here, wouldn't you say?" the Queen asked me, smiling. 

"Just a bit?" I scoffed.

"Hmm, indeed. Sarah!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. A guard in white rushed up to her and bowed.

"Yes, my liege," she said. I wanted soooo much to just kick her down. But I didn't.

"Let's liven this place up a bit, shall we?" she said. "Bring out my favorite source of entertainment!" The guard in white rushed away and through another door in the hall. "Oooh, this is going to be _so exciting!" the Queen said, bouncing up and down in her chair. Wow. These people must not get out that much. Soon enough, two women emerged from the same door, dressed in golden armor, although it didn't cover much. I could tell the women were both Gerudos because of their skin tone. They had daggers and curved hooks in their hands, and had strange masks covering their faces. A lot of guards came over to watch what was going to happen next. They both bowed to the Queen, and at the Queen's cue, began fighting. (Picture the two girls fighting in "The Mummy Returns." Good movie. I suggest you all go out and see it if you haven't already.) The fighting was intense and it looked treacherous. Everyone seemed to be delighted but me. _

"Someday, you'll be fighting like that, too," the Queen whispered to me. Oh no I won't! I'll be out of here waaaaaay before I ever have to face one of _them! Holy shit, I'd get killed. About 5 minutes later, the one that had the upperhand in the fight the whole time finally won. She had her opponent backed up against a wall with daggers at her throat. Everyone clapped and the winner helped the loser up. They bowed to the Queen and exited the way they came in. Ohh boy I was going to be in a lot of trouble if I didn't get out of there. Fast._

*Link*

I opened my eyes and saw a ceiling. I wasn't tired anymore, and I could think clearly, but I didn't know where I was. I was warm, and there was another body up against mine. I looked over, and it was Malon! Ahh! I jumped right out of bed and onto the cold wooden floor. I woke her up in the process.

"Mmm...hey, fairy boy," she said, smiling at me. Her nightgown was all bunched up and a lot of skin was showing. Pretty nasty to wake up to.

"What?! What am I doing here?!" I exclaimed, glancing around the room. I noticed that I didn't have my tunic on, only my leggings. My armor and boots and clothing were in a pile on the other side of the room. Ohh man, I'm in trouble this time!!

"Don't you remember? You came here last night, begging to be let in!" she squeaked. That's not how I remember it. I remember coming in to ask if I could take a nap, and she forced Lon Lon milk down my throat and then I got woozy. 

"No I didn't! That's a lie!" I yelled, throwing my clothes and armor on.

"Guess that Arden wasn't good enough for ya, was she?" Malon said, chuckling to herself. Ah! Arden! She's still at the fortress! I hope she's still alive! Goddesses, Link, how could you be so stupid?!! "You just couldn't stand not being with me, so you ditched the wench and went straight for me." I drew my sword and rushed at her. I held it up to her neck as she layed there.

"Arden is more of a woman than you'll ever be, and I love her!" I screamed, my fist shaking as I clutched the sword. Malon gasped, and started to back up. I was so angry, I could have killed her right there, but instead, I pulled my sword away and rushed out of there, not hearing a sound from Malon again. Epona rushed to me as I exited the building and we raced out of there as fast as we could. I was so furious…furious with Malon, furious with the Gerudos…but mostly furious with myself. I always have to concentrate on the mission, not on myself, and look what I did! Sleeping next to Malon! I let myself down, and what's worse, I let Arden down. My thoughts made me feel more and more guilty as Epona and I reached the valley. After knocking out a few guards, I was able to enter the place no problem. I had to keep checking if anyone was following me, though, so what happened last time didn't happen again. I snuck deep into the fortress walls, and finally came to a huge set of double doors. There was music and noise going on inside, and I had a good feeling that Arden was in there. I drew my bow and arrow, kicked the doors open, and stormed in. I shot four guards that charged at me, and everyone stopped moving as I screamed.

*Arden*

"Nobody move!" the man in green belted at the top of his lungs. I looked harder to see who it was, and it was Link! Link had come back to rescue me! Wait! No! Link was the reason why I got stuck here in the first place! Damnit, then why do I just want to get up and hug and kiss him? Why must my emotions toy with me so?!!

"Nobody move, and nobody gets hurt!" he screamed again at the approaching guards. "I came for the girl. Bring her to me or you will all be very sorry!" I stood up.

"Link!" I cried, rushing towards him. 

"Arden!" he called, smiling at me. 

"SILENCE!" the Queen shouted, grabbing my arm and yanking me back. I started to fight, but she held a knife to my throat. Damnit, Link was my ticket out of here! "Silence! All of you!" Link drew an arrow and aimed it at the Queen. She started to laugh. "Do it, and your precious little thing here dies," she said ominously. Link, don't mess with the psycho lady with a knife! Please!

"I've made a bad decision once, and I'm not going to let that happen again," he said, never taking his aim off of the Queen. The Queen started to laugh.

"I like you kids. Let me tell you something. If you promise not to kill me now, I can assure you your thing here won't die," she said. "I will let her go under one condition," she continued.

"And what is that?" Link barked from across the room.

"The wench here has to prove her freedom. Either one night with me or a fight. Your decision," she said, chuckling softly. A night with her? Fuck no. I'll fight to the death if I have to.

"I'll fight," I said, yanking my arm away from her. She started laughing again. 

"Good," she said, and walked over to the guards. She returned with two swords in her hand.

"I'll fight to the death," I said, backing away from her a bit.

"Alright, we'll do it in one round. Here are your pathetic weapons," she said as a guard brought out all my stuff. I picked up my sword and shield, and without hesitating, I swung at the Queen, fast and hard.

*Link*

The Queen blocked Arden's blow, and they started fighting. I had never seen such intensity and anger coming out of Arden like that before, and to tell you the truth, it kind of scared me. What scared me more was that the Queen had the upper hand in the fight the whole time, and Arden came close to getting a limb chopped off here or there. They fought and fought and fought and fought some more, and after a while I could tell Arden was getting really tired. But I couldn't do anything but watch. The Queen finally knocked Arden down, and held her swords against her neck. I felt my stomach sink to the floor. 

"Hah!" the Queen said in triumph, laughing. "I have won," she said, never taking her swords away from Arden. When everyone started clapping, she took her eyes off of Arden, and as soon as she did, Arden kicked her legs right out from under her and the Queen went crashing to the floor. Everything seemed to move in slow motion then, slowly growing faster and faster as Arden beat the Queen down. (Picture the last Star Wars movie when Luke is beating Vader before he chops Vader's hand off…with that intensity. Y'know what I just realized? I watch waaaay too many movies.) Arden just kept smashing the Queen's swords harder and harder, the clanging growing louder and faster, almost taking on a tune of its own. The Queen finally collapsed into the corner, and Arden kicked her swords away from her. Sweat was dripping off both of them, more from Arden, I noticed, giving her a glow as she held her sword to the Queen's jugular. The Queen started to laugh.

"Alright…Alright…" she said, inbetween pants. "You…win…" she said, laughing again. Arden's face was as hard and cold as stone as she pulled her sword away from the Queen and turned to me. She picked up her things off the floor and walked right past me, without even making eye contact. I looked at the Queen one last time before rushing out after Arden. She was being helped up by two other guards.

"Arden!" I exclaimed as she rushed out the door and into the blinding light. "Arden!" I called again as I got no response from her. I ran right up to her side, but she wouldn't even look at me. "Arden! Listen! I'm sorry! I had the intention to come back and rescue you, I swear! And look, I did!" I exclaimed. I got no response. "Please, Arden, speak to me! Say something! Anything?" She stopped abruptly and turned to me.

"Rescue me? Listen, Hero, I was completely capable of rescuing myself, as you just witnessed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change and find a way out of this sick world." She spoke harshly and bitterly. I had never heard her use that tone before. A way out? But…she can't leave! I love her!

"Arden, please!" I said, rushing up to meet her again. She increased her pace. "Arden, would you at least hear me out?" No answer. "Please?!" I pulled on her arm, and she stopped. "Just listen to what I have to say. If you don't like it, you can leave," I said, exasperated. She turned to me, annoyed.

"You have five minutes," she said, leaning against the wall. I took a deep breath.

"Listen, Arden, I'm sorry I chose Epona over you back there. But I knew it would be easier to break you out of there than the horse, so that's why I chose her." 

"Four minutes," she said, looking off into the distance.

"Please, Arden, I'm begging you. You're the best thing that's happened to me, _ever, and I mean that." She looked into my eyes. I felt like I was going to melt right there. I could sense the warmth returning to those cool green pools._

"You mean aside of Princess Zelda," she said solemnly, looking at the ground. I cupped her chin and our eyes locked again. 

"No. She doesn't come close to you," I said, in all honesty. She smiled a bit, and tried to hide it, but I noticed it. I smiled too. "Arden, you are my best friend, and my heart would shatter if you left me here, alone, in Hyrule. Arden…I love you." There, I had said it! Boy, did that feel good! She looked up at me, and smiled. She dropped her things and jumped on me. I held her up, and she kissed me. There was electricity and heat surging through my body, some from my own excitement, and a lot from Arden. She relaxed in my arms, and deepened the kiss. I slid my tongue into her mouth, and we both gasped at their meeting. I felt so wonderful at that time, like I could just fly away or something cheesy like that. But Arden tasted so good, better than I ever could have imagined, and when we pulled apart for air, I felt myself yearning for her in ways that I hadn't before. She giggled and kissed my cheek and scruffy chin, and I put her down.

"I love you too, Link," she said, taking my hand. Okay, that was it. She bent over to pick up her things, and I scooped her up and carried her over to Epona. She placed her things on Epona's back and I lifted her up. I got on behind her and we rode out to Hyrule field, hands and lips locked most of the way.

Ahh, yes, the much awaited chapter for you love fools out there. Well, I hope you enjoyed it, cause it's just the beginning between Link and Arden, if you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge. So, uh, chapter 16 will be up just as soon as I write it…lol. Y'know, the weather in New England is sooo random?! It was in the 80's and 90's the past few days, and now it's supposed to snow on Monday! Gah!! Well, I like snow and hate the heat so I hope we get a blizzard, lol. Alright, enough of my ranting and raving. Cya!


	16. Chapter 16

Hello to all my wonderful friends out there in computer land!!! And happy birthday to Storm-child on the 28th!! The past few days I have been swamped with crap and I haven't been feeling as well as I usually do. And I've also realized something. I have read a few other stories that I really like, and I have found it to be frustrating when the authors don't update regularly. Then I realized that I have been doing that to all of you, and I felt bad! So, from now on, I'm going to try to get chapters up faster to meet the demands instead of taking my sweet old time on them. 'Cause I heart you guys and stuff. Okay. 'Nuff babble. 

Disclaimer: Don't shoot me I don't own nothin'.

*Arden*

Holy crap, how the hell did I manage to pull that one off?!! He loves me?! He loves me back? The way I love him?

This is better than I ever could have imagined.

"Arden, did I tell you that I liked your outfit?" Link mumbled in my ear as we proudly trotted across Hyrule field. I looked down and realized that I was still in Gerudo gear. Eeeewww…

"Shut up!" I exclaimed, lightly elbowing his chest. He chuckled.

"No, really, though. I love how it exposes your midriff and all of your legs and arms," he said, almost seductively. I rolled my eyes.

"You're a sick puppy," I said, leaning against him. He shrugged.

"Can't help it," he said, and we continued riding. 

"Link, can we find somewhere where I can change? And sleep? Cause I didn't get any sleep last night 'cept when I took that nap at your house."

"Arden, you can't sleep, cause your sleep-cycle will get all fucked up if you do," he said, stopping Epona where the roads crossed in front of Hyrule castle and out of Lon Lon Ranch. I sighed because I knew he was right.

"Alright. I promise I won't sleep if you find a safe place where I can change. But you have to help keep me awake, and I know that's gunna be a pain in your tight little ass," I said, smirking a bit.

"Change here," he said flatly.

"What? Here? I can't! It's out in the open!" I exclaimed, turning abruptly to face him. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

"What's the big deal? There's nobody out here…except me," he said, smiling.

"Exactly," I said, crossing my arms. He groaned. 

"Alright," he said. "And then we can go out for food, 'cause I'm starving." I smiled.

"Always thinkin' with your stomach," I repeated the words he once used on me. I was hungry, too, though. Those sonsabitches didn't give me anything to eat. Well, to make a long story short, we went back to Link's house in Kakariko, and I finally got to change my clothes. Link tried to stay inside, (man, I'd never seen a guy try so hard to do something before), while I was changing, but I'm just gunna save that for…well…when the time comes…if it ever does come. (Hope and pray! Hope and pray!) The best thing was, I got to keep the shoes, too!

"Alright, you perve, you can come in now," I said, watching the door fling open. Link ran at me full speed and tackled me onto the bed. He started kissing me avidly and passionately. Whoah, that wasn't expected!

"Link," I said, inbetween kisses. "Link! Link! I just got my clothes _on! Now you want to take them off?!" He pulled away for a sec and nodded rapidly with blazing eyes and a mischievous grin on his face. "No, Link, get up. Not now," I said. He pouted, and sat back on my stomach. _

"Always ruinin' my fun," he said solemnly, crossing his arms. I sighed.

"Link, get off," I giggled, pushing him to the side. I walked over to the table where I had layed my weapons down, and put them on. I pulled my hair out of its high ponytail that the Gerudos put it in and quickly ran a hand through it. I noticed that Link watched me the entire time, carefully examining my every move. I turned to him when I finished. "Ready?" I said as cheerily as possible.

"Mhm," he replied with a nod, walking over to the door. After we exited, Link locked the door and I jumped off the little ledge. I waited for him, then we started walking towards Castle Town at a rather fast pace. We didn't say much on the way over there, but I don't think much needed to be said. It was one of those things where you know you can be in the same room with someone and have it completely silent but confidently know the other person is enjoying your company as much as you're enjoying theirs. As we were walking past the tree where we first met, Link scooped up a flower for me and placed it behind me ear. I giggled.

"I don't really think that it goes with my outfit," I said, looking down at my boyish clothing. Link laughed.

"I don't care. You look cute," Link said, chuckling softly. 

"That's a first," I mused, continuing along.

"Yeah it is," Link added, quickly dodging my fist.

"Shut up!" I cried. "You're not supposed to agree with me!" He laughed loudly.

"What I meant was," he started, "this is the first time you've looked _just cute."_

"Mhm, real confidence booster there, Link," I mused. He sighed.

"I mean that you always look unbelievably sexy and incredibly fine," he said, flashing those pearly whites. I rolled my eyes.

"Right," I said sarcastically. 

"It's true!" he cried. "Every time I see you I just wanna rip your clothes off and do you, no matter where we are!" he yelled, jumping in front of me. I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks flush as I looked around to see if anyone was near; if anyone had heard him.

"Link!" I exclaimed, in shock. "That's all very flattering, but it kind of hurts to know that you only have a physical attraction to me," I said solemnly, continuing to walk along the path. I felt his hand grasp my upper arm, stopping me in my tracks.

"Arden," he said in a low tone. "Arden, you know that it's more than that. You know I love you, with every inch of my body and soul." I turned to him and smiled. 

"I know," I said, smiling sheepishly. Of course I knew that was true. What was I thinking?!

"Plus," he added, a devilish smile creeping up on his face, "I know that you're attracted to me as much as I'm attracted to you," he said, chuckling. Damnit, cocky bastard, why did he have to be right all the time?! I smiled, and quickly looked away. "You can't deny it," he said, taking a step back from me. I looked up, and our eyes met. I allowed my eyes to travel all over his body, starting with his enchanting sapphire eyes. His face, strong but kind, was hidden beneath his shaggy blonde hair and green hat. My eyes traveled further down, past his scruffy chin and elongated neck, to his broad shoulders and chest. I had to keep myself from drooling as I gazed over his six-pack abs, concealed beneath his green garbs but not out of sight completely. I continued down, further down, and my eyes became fixated on his sex. I felt my heart rate increasing and my breathing escalating as I imagined what it would be like to see it in the flesh. I worked my way down past his muscular legs and boots and back up again.

He was right. I couldn't deny it.

"Close your yap," Link said, chuckling, "before drool starts coming out." I smacked his chest, shoving him backwards.

"Shut up," I said, walking towards the town. Before long, we had entered the same restaurant that we had dined in before, when we first met.

*Link* 

We made our way through the dim atmosphere, and took a seat near the back this time. A peppy waitress took our orders, and we were soon caught up in conversation again.

"Uh…Link?" Arden asked, rather hesitantly. 

"Yes?" I replied, looking up at my beautiful friend.

"Did I…uh…tell you about Malon?" Oh Goddesses, Malon?! My face began to flush, and I began to panic. Did she know what I did? When did she have time to talk to her?!

"No!" I exclaimed, unable to calm myself down. She gave me a strange look.

"Yeah…uh…when I was in Gerudo land, the Queen told me something about Malon," she said, looking away from me. Oh Goddesses…please…no…

"And?"

"She said that they brainwashed her, and there's something worse," she said, her eyes clouded over. 

"Brainwashed?" I cried, not being able to believe what I was hearing. She nodded.

"And…I found out while I was there…that all the Gerudos were lesbians." I stared at her, blinking hard. What? The last time I heard about the love lives of the Gerudos was when they came out to the rest of Hyrule to get boyfriends, course that was when Nabooru was leader.

"So…what your saying is…ohh my Goddesses, that's why she was acting so…so…"

"Weird," Arden said, nodding. Oh man, I had to make things right with Malon again. And I needed to confess to Arden.

"Arden?" I asked after the waitress appeared with our food.

"Hmm?" she said, taking a bite of her potatoes. I took a gulp of wine.

"Arden…the night you were captured, I…I rode to Lon Lon Ranch, so I could leave Epona there, y'know, so I would know she was safe." She nodded, and I continued. "Well, I was really tired, so I figured I would just rest my eyes for a minute or two inside Malon's house." She looked up at me, and swallowed.

"And?"

"And…well…before I knew it, she was offering me milk and I could barely keep my eyes open and…I went to bed…with Malon." She dropped her fork with a clank. She opened her mouth to speak, but I spoke first. "It's not what it sounds like!" I cried, watching in horror as anger swept over Arden's face. 

"You slept with her?! When I was…there?!!" she exclaimed, throwing her cloth napkin down. 

"No! I didn't sleep with her! I just slept next to her!" I retorted, stopping her from getting up. I looked around, realizing that we were causing a scene. We both lowered our voices simultaneously.

"It still doesn't make it right," she snapped, crossing her arms. I sighed.

"I know that, and for that I am very, truly sorry. I only told you this because I want no secrets between us. I only want honesty," I cried, hopefully not in vain. Her face softened a bit.

"Thank you for telling the truth," she mumbled, picking up her fork. She was still pissed. "I think we should make things right with Malon after we finish this," she said, stuffing some vegetables down her throat. I took another gulp of wine.

"So you're not mad anymore?" I asked, hopefully.

"Oh I'm mad. I'll be mad for a while. You just better watch what you do and say from now on." We finished our meal in silence.

Can we say filler? "FILL-ER." Okay…I'm tired…I'll try to get the next chappie up asap!


	17. Chapter 17

Okay…I have some time alone to myself, so what do I do? Write for you! (wooo I made a rhyme in time!!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

*Link*

We didn't say anything to eachother for a while. I paid for the bill, no need to upset her even further. We slowly made our way back out to Hyrule field, and Arden turned to me.

"We need to set things straight with Malon," she said flatly. 

"Alright," I said. We walked over to the ranch with that awkward silence hanging over our heads. When we reached the barn, we heard that familiar humming coming from within. Arden barged right in, surprising Malon, and turned to me, arms crossed.

"Arden…Link…what are you doing here?" Malon asked, avoiding my stare. Damnit, I had hurt both these women, both the women that meant the most to me.

"Link has something to say to you," Arden said hotly, looking over at me. I swallowed hard, and looked at Malon. 

"Uh…Malon…I'm sorry that I…" I was struggling with the words. 

"No, Link…it's my fault. I haven't been feeling myself lately, and I've been having these headaches and dizzy spells that cause me to do things that I normally wouldn't do. I don't know what's come over me." Arden was becoming impatient, so she spoke up.

"Malon, while I was imprisoned in the Gerudo fortress, I learned something." Malon looked over at Arden. "Something about you, which may explain why you were feeling so weird." Malon looked petrified.

"Y-yes?" she managed to get out.

"Malon, they said that they brainwashed you, which would explain…" I butted in.

"Your…um…sexual preferences," I said, blushing like mad.

"And the reason why you've been feeling so weird. I don't know why they released you, but I'm glad they did, because a nice girl like you doesn't belong in a horrible place like that," Arden said, softer than she spoke before. I felt relieved that they weren't going to get into a catfight right there. Well, if Arden and Malon were involved, it wouldn't be a catfight, there would be carnage everywhere.

"Oh my Goddesses," Malon said, leaning against a wall. "That's why I…oh my goddesses, you guys, I'm so sorry about all this…I really didn't mean to…"

"It's alright," Arden and I said at the same time. I smiled, but Arden didn't. 

"Hopefully we can put this behind us and start over," Arden said, smiling at Malon. Malon smiled back and looked relieved.

"Yes. I never meant to scare or hurt you guys. Hopefully we can start a new friendship," Malon said, taking a few steps towards us. Arden and I nodded simultaneously. Arden and I made our way to the door, feeling much more comforted than we did on the way in. 

"See ya around, Mal," I said.

"Thank you," Malon said as I closed the door. I turned to Arden who was walking towards the exit. I rushed up to meet her, but she didn't even look at me.

"That felt good," I said cheerily.

"Mhm," Arden mumbled. We walked back out onto the field, and Arden sat down in a patch of clover. I watched her start to pick some wildflowers, then broke down into tears. It hurt me so bad knowing that I was the cause of her hurt, watching her trembling there in the sunshine. I slowly walked up behind her and quietly sat down. Her sobs were heartbreaking. I didn't meant to do the things I did…I didn't mean to break her spirit. I knew this wound would take a long time to heal.

"Arden…" I whispered, trying to find the right words to say. She didn't reply. I just stared at the back of her head, watching the sunlight gleam off of her red tresses and watch the tears drop onto the petals that she had just picked. "Arden…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you," I whispered, sitting down next to her. "I don't know what else to say. All I want for you to is to be happy and live a wonderful life without hate and sorrow. Please, please don't leave me." I spoke my words from the heart. She turned to me, and I looked into her tear-streamed face. Her green eyes were fogged over. It upset me so much seeing her like this.

"Link," she said quietly. "I…I'm not going to leave you," she said, smiling a bit. It felt like a huge weight was being lifted off my chest.

"You're not?!" I exclaimed, smiling. She nodded. "Oh, good! Arden, I couldn't live without you! Arden, I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" She giggled.

"Whoah…calm down there, killer," she said, wiping the tears off of her face.

"I'm serious," I said, growing more and more excited. She smiled again.

"I know you are," she said, laughing. "Link, I love you. But I don't know about all this. What about my home? And my family? Where am I going to live?" Damnit, I hadn't thought about that. Oh man, her family is probably worried sick about her! And where exactly is she from?

"We can work it out," I said, grinning. She smiled back. "Arden, where are you from?" She sat there for a moment, in silence.

"Link, I'm from a far off country called the United States of America. It's extremely far from here, so far, I think it's in another dimension." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Another dimension? There are other dimensions? 

"Would that explain your different ears and clothes?" I asked, fascinated with this new information presented to me.

"Yeah," she said, laughing.

"Wow…this is crazy…how did you get here?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I don't know…I was just playing…um…I was watching the television…and…"

"Television?" I asked. "What a weird word!"

"Yes…Link, um, don't be offended, but my culture is a lot more advanced than yours. But, your culture has magic and different species can talk to eachother. And we don't have fish people and…Goron people," she said quickly. 

"How do you know about them?" I asked, dumbfounded with what she was saying.

"I know a lot about this place. And if I can ever get home, I'll bring you there, and show you everything." I smiled. Go to another dimension? Go to Arden's home? I could not believe this.

"Wow…I would love to see your world," I said, taking her hand. "Do you think your family misses you?" I asked. She looked saddened then.

"No. They probably don't even know I'm gone. I'm an only child, and my parents are on vacation right now. They will be until the fall."

"So…nobody knows your missing?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Probably not. My parents are really wealthy, they own a multi-million dollar company, and I have a really big house and lots of things in it. I've always had the best of things, except the one thing I've wanted all my life." 

"And what's that?" I asked.

"A family that loves me and pays attention to me," she said sadly. "As long as I can remember, I was taken care of by butlers and maids, and sent off to private schools around the country, camps in the summer, and now college in the fall. But all I wanted was to be paid attention to." I felt bad for her. 

"Yeah. I know what it's like," I said. "I have no recollection of my mother or any of my family. I was raised in Kokiri forest, and don't really know anything about my family history." She took my other hand. 

"I'm really sorry," she said, bringing me into a hug. She kissed me, and we held eachother there.

"But you can't tell anyone about this. I don't want anything ruining your wonderful culture," she said. I kissed her forehead.

"Your secret's safe with me," I said, gazing into her eyes. The usual sparkle had returned to those green orbs, and I felt happy again.

"There's only one other thing," she said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm so friggin' tired!" she exclaimed, letting her body fall to the ground. I laughed, and began to tickle her.

"You have to stay awake!" I said, gleefully watching her laugh.

"Noooo! Link! Stop it!" she cried, writhing and twisting at my touch.

"No!" I replied, laughing with her.

"Gaaah!" she exclaimed, trying to push me away. "Stop!"

"You're gunna have to beg for it!" I shouted. She laughed harder.

"NO!"

"Yes! Beg for it!" I began to tickle her harder, holding her down.

"Link! Please stop! I'll do anything! Stop it you bastard!" I smiled.

"Wrong answer," I said, not letting up.

"I…no…LINK IF YOU DON'T STOP YOU WON'T GET ANY TONIGHT!" I stopped immediately. She began to laugh again. "I knew that would stop you," she said. I got up, and so did she.

"Damnit, you found my weak spot," I said, chuckling.

"Wasn't too hard," she said, brushing herself off.

"So does that mean I'm getting some tonight?" I asked hopefully, grinning from ear to ear.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she teased, walking away from me. A wave excitement came over my entire body, and I raced after her through the field.

I think this is a record for me…lol! Alright, catch y'all on the flip side!


	18. Chapter 18

Hey y'all. If you read my author's note before, just skip the next big blurb thingamajig.

Hey everyone…it's been a while, I know. But let me explain before you get all up in my heezy. First, I had been sick for the past week and a half, and for the first part of my sickness, I didn't have the energy to think about writing or anything. Then I had a ton of make-up work to do in school, and I had 2 to 3 major projects to do. The work just piled on, and the gap for time that I usually a lot for my writing quickly shut tight. Then, as I went to type my project on my computer on Saturday, nothing worked. NOTHING. SO…since I had to pass that (8 page) paper in on Monday, I had to go to my aunt's house and use her mac. We had a party at her house that night, and then mother's day was the next day, so no way was I going to have time to write. So we had to re-boot my entire computer, (windows, explorer, aim, the sound, my at&t connection, and I have yet to connect to AOL again. OH! And as another stress factor, all this week and next week I have my MCAS exams. (In Massachusetts, if you don't pass them, you don't graduate.) They're not hard, (in fact, they're relatively easy…) but still, it puts a lot of pressure on one's shoulders. So I hope you guys accept my apologies, and I hope you didn't either a. piss your pants or b. rip your hair out in frustration. I am really sorry, and I thank you for your patience. 

*sigh of relief* much better. Now…to chapter 18…

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Zelda? Not even close.

*Arden*

As we raced towards the bridge in Hyrule field, a thousand and one thoughts were racing through my head at the same time. I mean, what's gunna happen to us? Am I going to stay here, or go back to earth? I like it here…much better that my life back home. And I can't imagine living without Link, not after knowing him like this. And it would break my heart if the only time I saw him was when I turned on my N64 and saw his animated body, and the only sounds coming out of his mouth would be the "hah!" and "hyah!" I think I would die. But I wanna stay with Link forever, now. I want to have a family with him, but not right away. I know I want to bang him bad, like, all the time, but I can't risk getting pregnant now. And what if it's a sin, and I do become pregnant, will I have to hide it from the people of Hyrule? So I don't dishonor Link's title or something? Jeez, what the crap am I gunna do?!

"Link?" I called softly as we headed up the stairs to Kakariko.

"Hmm?"

"Link…uh…nevermind." How could I bring this up to him? 

"Okay." We rounded the corner, and continued on in silence for a bit. We walked up to his house, and I watched him unlock the door, never letting a sound emit from my lips. We walked inside to the familiar dimness and musty smell, and simultaneously put our equipment down. Link sat on the bed, and I sat on the table, putting my feet up on the back of a chair.

"Link?"

"Yes?" It was now or never.

"Link, uh…how early…do uh…girls get married here? Or how young I should say?" He smiled coyly.

"Your age and younger, I'm afraid. And they have kids now, too. But don't worry about it. I know we're not going to rush into that right now." I sighed with relief.

"Okay, good!" I exclaimed, smiling. He smiled back. "And is it like…against your society to uh…have sex out of marriage?" I could tell I was blushing like mad. I had a good idea that I was a nice lobster red color. Link started to chuckle.

"No! Not at all! Everyone does it! It's just not a good thing to have children out of marriage. Then people start looking down on you." I smiled. 

"But I don't wanna get pregnant just yet, I'm too young, and I want to go on quests with you!" I exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, calm down. All we have to do is buy some contraceptives! They're not that expensive, and they're guaranteed to last a month. You can buy them at the potion shop here in Kakariko."

"So if I take that once a month, we won't have babies until we're ready?" I asked, making sure I heard him correctly. 

"That's right. Say, who said we were going to have babies? I didn't say anything about sex, expecially with you," he teased. I knew he was kidding, but I still blushed.

"Shut up! If I took my shirt off right now, you wouldn't be saying that." Link just grinned evilly. Cocky bastard. But that's why I love him.

"Do it, and we'll just see about that," Link said in a low, sexy tone, and purred. I just rolled my eyes. 

"No. Shut the crap up. I'm not finished talking yet," I snapped, holding back my laughter when I saw his face fall.

"Now what?" he joked.

"Link, I want to go to college and get an education and a diploma. Is there a school around here we could go to that would offer that?" He thought a minute.

"Yeah, actually. There's Hyrule Academy. It's taught by old monks, but everyone that comes out of there raves about it and has done pretty well for themselves. You go for two years and live on campus there. It costs a lot, but the Princess gave me a full scholarship for saving Hyrule," he said proudly. I smiled.

"I…don't have any money," I said solemly. That was the first time in my life I actually admitted that with truth behind it.

"Don't worry. I can pay for your schooling from what I have saved up in the bank," he said. 

"No, Link, you're too generous. You bought me the clothes and weapons on my back. You gave me food to eat and a roof over my head…well…sometimes," I said, chuckling. He smiled. "I can't keep taking money from you."

"Arden, you have what I have. What's mine is yours…" he got off the bed and walked up in front of me. He placed his hands on my sides. "…and what yours…mmm…is mine," he said, accentuating his deep, masculine voice. I giggled a bit as he placed tender kisses and bites on my neck.

"Remind me to get a job," I said. He stopped and started laughing.

"You punk," he said, backing away, and sitting on the end of the bed. I knew he was looking me up and down, but frankly, I didn't give a damn at the time.

"So what about those contraceptives?" I asked, changing the subject again. Link yawned, and crossed his arms.

"They're…" he yawned again, "out in the potion shop. I can run out there and get you some if you want." I could tell he was sleepy.

"No, Link, you stay here. I'll go get them, I'm a big girl, remember?" I said, hopping off the table and walking towards the door. 

"Wokay," he said, collapsing on the bed. I stopped abruptly and turned around.

"Link?" I asked sweetly, "Do you have any money?" I smiled sheepishly as he groaned. He threw his wallet across the room, and I caught it as it sailed towards me. "Thank you," I said, and headed out the door. I hopped off the ledge, and took a look around. The village was quiet, almost eerie. This town needed to be livened up, but with what, I'm not sure yet. I walked up the stairs, closer to the entrance to Death Mountain trail, and walked to the sign with a big cauldron on it. This had to be the place. I stepped inside, and it looked just like the Bazaar that we went into in Castle Town. It smelled of strong spices and weird chemicals. A really cute guy was standing behind the counter, smiling at me as I closed the door. I smiled back politely.

"G'day, ma'am," he said, flashing a grin. He was sooo cute, he had shoulder length deep red hair, and green eyes. He was tall and muscular, not as good a build as Link's, but still pretty cute. I felt embarrassed asking him for contraceptives.

"Hello," I said cheerily. I walked up to the counter. I kinda wished I had combed my hair before I went out.

"What can I get for ya?" he said, smiling again.

"Do you carry…um…that contraceptive potion?" I could feel my face flushing. He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Maybe," he said coyly, grinning from ear to ear. I began to get impatient.

"Well, I'd like to buy some," I said hastily.

"What for? Who's the lucky fella?" His cuteness was quickly starting to fade.

"None of your business," I snapped, whipping out Link's wallet. "If you don't want my business, then I can just take it elsewhere," I said, turning around to leave.

"No! No! I'm sorry! We have it! Just a minute!" he exclaimed, running into the back. I could hear a girls giggling as the door remained open. He ran back out with a jar of clear blue liquid. "Here you go, ma'am!" he exclaimed, placing it down on the countertop. I raised my eyebrow at him this time.

"How much?" I asked. 

"Fifty rupees," he said.

"Too much! I guess I'll have to go someplace else--"

"Gah…forty! And that's my final offer!

"I'd only pay thirty for that," I said, rather haughtily.

"Thirty-nine!" 

"Thirty-one!"

"Thirty-five!"

"Twenty-five!"

"Twenty! Gah…no!" he cried quickly.

"Oh! I'll take it!" I exclaimed, smiling as I watched him place his head in his hands. "You're a great bargainer," I said as I paid him twenty rupees. I picked up my jar, and heard him grumble as I left the shop. I felt rather proud of myself. I looked around, and decided to pick some flowers for Link. There were some weird looking wildflowers growing here and there, so I began to scoop them up, hoping they weren't poisonous, like Poison Ivy or something. Minutes began to elapse as I explored this small town even more. I looked at my reflection in the well, and realized how grimy I was. I looked down at my hands, and decided that I needed a bath. I quickly ran into a general store and bought a bottle of shampoo/body soap stuff. Damnit, if this was the night that Link and I were going to commit ourselves to eachother, then damnit, I was going to look good doing it. I whistled for Epona, and we raced towards Lon Lon Ranch. Malon looked about my size, and I when I got to her door, I asked her if I could borrow a dress. She let me try on this tight sexy black number, and it fit perfectly. I borrowed a towel as well. I thanked her and ran back out into the field on Epona. We went to the river, (the part where it runs under a ledge), and I quickly undressed and hopped into the water. It was cold, but it felt nice, so I just sat and soaked. I washed my hair and body, and got all the grime off me. As soon as I was finished, I dried off, and put my new clean undergarments and dress on. I rubbed my hair nearly dry with the towel, then combed it out. It wasn't completely dry, but the best I could do for now. I put on my shoes and grabbed all that I had brought.

"Epona, if I do end up staying here, remind me to get a bath and shower installed, cause I can't keep doing this," I said, laughing as the horse grunted. I raced up the steps with my old clothes, towel, potion, and flowers in my hands. When I reached the house, the door was left open a crack. I pushed it open, and looked around. Link was nowhere to be seen!

"Link?" I called as I placed everything but the flowers and potion down. No answer. "Link?" I called again. I walked up to the table, and there were to candles lit. I noticed there was a tablecloth and dishes and silverware placed neatly for two people, and that the room had been tidied up a bit. There was a steady fire glowing in the fireplace, and I could smell something good cooking. There was a note on the table.

"Arden," I read out loud. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like it. And I hope you like the wine I picked out. It's on the table," I continued. I looked up, and saw the bottle behind the empty vase. I placed my flowers in it, surprised to find that it already contained water. "You are a very special person to me, and I'm going to enjoy living the rest of my life with you. But you better watch out for what's behind you!" I read, puzzled. I spun around quickly, and Link swept me up and into a passionate kiss. He startled me big time, and I began to laugh.

"He baby," he said.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I cried, smacking his chest lightly. "I got the potion," I said, motioning to the bottle on the table.

"Good," he said, smiling mysteriously. I watched his eyes move from my head all the way down to my toes and back again. "Whoah…Arden…is this what you've been doing the whole time?" he asked, moving closer to me. I nodded. "Mmm…I like this!!" he said, pulling me closer. 

"What's mine is…yours…" I mumbled as I kissed him again. I felt his hands travel down my spine and then squeeze my ass. He pulled away gently.

"Let's eat first," he said, motioning towards the table. I sat down, and he brought a pot of good-smelling stuff to the table. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"Chicken in a nice tomato and basil sauce," he said, smiling. "Over spaghetti." Well, for a warrior that probably doesn't have any time to cook, this was pretty good! We ate our meal, and had wine, (a lot of wine…) and we both had a nice buzz going.

"That was great," I said as I carried the dishes to the sink. I plugged the drain, filled the sink with warm, soapy water, and let the dishes soak. 

"Thank you," Link said. "Now…drink the potion," he said as I dried my hands. I walked over to the bottle, and chugged it like I would chug a pint. (lol no I wouldn't…) 

"Gah! This stuff tastes like shit!" I cried as I swallowed the last drop. Link smiled.

"Small price to pay. Say, uh, Arden, wanna come 'ere a minute?" Link said seductively. I strolled up to him and sat on his lap, straddling his body. "Now that I've seen the outside of that dress, let me see what's underneath it," he said, beginning to kiss my neck. I could feel heat surging all over my body as he placed his hands on my sides. I closed my eyes, and let him work his magic.

WoooO! Alright, folks, you tell me if you want a detailed description or not. And thanks for the reviews!


	19. Chapter 19

What's up guys!! It's been a long, long, loooooooooooong time, I know. (Forever.) I'm really reeeeely sorry, but school sucks, and I have a bajillion and one things to work on. And after those things are passed in (minor projects…such as WRITING A FRIGGIN' CHILDREN'S BOOK, IN FRENCH!! and DOING A THIRD 10 PAGE ESSAY ON FAMOUS PEOPLE OF THE 20th CENURY!!!) I get to start studying for final exams. And if that doesn't suck enough, I have a marching band rehearsal and a recital this week!! But then, after school gets out, I'm going to Williamsburg, Virginia! Woohoo, Busch Gardens!! Lots of roller coasters with my name on 'em!! Seriously, though, I'll try to have this sucker finished sometime in the early summer, since I'll have TIME to do something other than be a slave for school. Unless I join drum corps…which I doubt will happen cause I already have my summer planned out. *sigh* I'm tryin', believe me, I'm tryin'. Please please pleeeeeeeese don't give up on me, or come to my house with a wild mob yielding pitchforks and torches…coughcoughSETSUNNAcoughcough. And I put a new story up today, check it out (if ff.net ever decides to POST IT!!!) Alright, enjoy!!  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own anything Zelda-related. Oh! And also, I decided not to do a detailed description because I didn't feel like vomiting all over myself, and my computer would also appreciate it if I didn't blow chunks all over it. Sorry, to all those out there that wanted it, you can use your own imaginations. Or write it for yourself. Feel free. Hey, contest time!! lol no way, man…

*Arden*

I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. I could smell Link, and feel his bare skin against mine. He was really hot, like a radiator, and I was cold, so I snuggled up against him. I loved him so much, and now that we were intimate, I knew that I could never leave this place. It was sunny out, I could see the sunlight peeking through the curtains, and I was hungry. Man, that guy takes a lot out of ya! I closed my eyes, and scenes from the night before kept on flashing in my mind. I smiled, and leaned up on my elbow, looking down on my sleeping lover. His chest was exposed, and halfway down his abs the sheet rested. I layed there for a while, just watching him sleep. He was so…beautiful. And he was mine. All mine.

*Link*

I was awake, but I kept my eyes closed. I could sense that Arden was sitting up, so I opened my eyes. She smiled sweetly at me as my eyes became adjusted to the light.

"Morning, sunshine," she said cheerily, giggling. 

"You're perky. That's so unlike you!" I exclaimed, yawning, and stretching a little. I sat up a bit, leaning against the pillows, and put my hands behind my head. Arden leaned against my upper body. I could feel her chest and smooth stomach through the sheets, and her heart beating against mine. 

"Yeah, well, after what you pulled off last night, I'll be perky for the rest of the year." I smiled. There were no ways to describe how good Arden was last night. So I won't tell ya, heh heh. 

"What can I say?" I said haughtily, chuckling a bit. Arden rolled her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her. 

"Link?" she asked sweetly. "Link…baby…can you…" She was using her seductive voice again. "Link, you big, sexy man you, can you…"

"Yes?" I inquired, grinning madly.

"Link…I can't wait any longer!" she cried, jumping and straddling me. Holy shit, I thought, here we go again!!

"Mmm…Arden…baby…" I moaned as she began to kiss my neck.

"Link…Link…I need you…I need you to…" she groaned inbetween kisses.

"Yes? Yes?!"

"Link…I need you to…oh baby!!!" Oh man, she's such a turn on!!

"Tell me Arden!!" I cried.

"Link!! I need you to…make me breakfast!" she said, smiling down on me. I froze for a minute, then pushed her off of me. She was laughing hysterically as I sat up.

"You little wench!" I yelled, pulling on some pants. "You got me all horny for nothing!!" She was crying from laughing so hard.

"You're…you're…!!!" she screamed, collapsing into another fit of laughter. "You should have seen your face!" That was it. Yeah, I know, she got me, but I wouldn't admit it. I ran over, scooped her up, still wrapped in all the sheets, and walked to the door. 

"Now you'll be sorry!" I yelled, laughing.

"NO! NO! LINK!! NO! I DON'T HAVE ANY--" I opened the door, and dropped her on the grass. She was frantically trying to cover herself with the sheets as I slammed the door. I smiled, and walked over to the fireplace to begin breakfast. A second later I heard the door swing open and Arden storm back in.

"There were people out there!" she cried, grasping onto the sheets.

"Lucky them," I said, holding in laughter. "A 'lil bit of a peep show first thing never hurt anybody." She grumbled. I heard her shuffle over to the bed, and throw the sheets off. I didn't turn around, (sorry guys), but my girl deserves privacy from others. When she was finished, she walked up to me, and gave me a hug.

"I hope it's eggs," she said as she let go. I already had eggs cracked in the pan frying. She made herself busy making the bed and setting the table as I cooked. We didn't have much conversation, but not much needed to be said.

"Almost done," I said after a while, breaking the silence.

"Good," she said. "Hey, Link, if I'm gunna stay here, you know, for good, we're going to have to do something with this place. I mean…it's nice and all, but not something I would like to call a home right at this minute." I looked around. She did have a point.

"Alright," I said, serving out our meal. "After we eat let's discuss our plans." And that was that. Well, we did eat, and the food was good, if I do say so myself, and we did make plans. The loft above us was going to be converted into two rooms, and there was going to be a full bathroom installed in the downstairs. We spent the rest of the day cleaning and sorting through all my crap, and it was dusk before we knew it. So Arden had the idea of going for a walk, which I liked the sound of, so we dropped what we were doing and went outside. 

*Arden*

There was a cool breeze blowing about, and it felt good to get out of that dusty house. We walked, hand-in-hand, out of the village and into Hyrule field. Link told so many wonderful stories of his adventures, most of them making me crack up.

"And then…Ruto was like, 'Blah blah blah, you're going to be my husband!' And I was like 'What the fuck are you talking about?! I'm taking this stone and getting as far away from your fishy ass as I can!'" I laughed at him. 

"Sucks to be you! Having a fish after you…that's pretty awful." He nodded. "Damn, if I ever catch her going after you, we'll be having Zora for dinner," I said, crossing my arms. He chuckled.

"Good." We walked on in silence for a bit more, and then it started to get really dark. We were on the path that ran around Lon Lon Ranch, coming up towards the castle. The clouds covered the moon, the only light that we had to guide us.

"Holy shit, Link, hold me!" I said, grabbing him. He laughed. 

"My pleasure," he said, wrapping an arm around me. Suddenly, the sky ripped open, a massive crack of it turning blood red. The sound was deafening, like the worst thunderstorm you could ever be in. The crack shook us both to the ground, and I looked at Link as we were getting up. He looked scared, which scared me, because I've never seen that boy afraid.

"What the fuck is that?!" I exclaimed in awe of what was before us. He turned to me, and grasped my upper arms.

"Arden! That's what the sky looked like when you fell out of it! Arden, don't go near it! I don't want you to go back!" he exclaimed, holding me tightly. I hugged him back.

"Link! Link!" I cried. "Link, this is my ticket home!" I bellowed, trying to pull him to the red beam that was connecting the sky to the ground. 

"No! Arden! I'm not letting you leave me!"

"Come on, Link!" I screamed, yanking him. He pulled he hard, almost ripping my arm out of its socket.

"NO!" he screamed. "I'm not letting you go!" I looked into his eyes, and saw that they were full of tears. I almost cried, too, when I saw him like that.

"Come with me," I said, calmly, wiping the tear from his cheek.

"No, Arden, I can't…I can't leave. This is my home. I belong here, in Hyrule. These people need me." I sighed.

"And up there is my home! God, why does this have to happen now?!" I exclaimed, hugging Link.

"Arden, what if you can't come back?! What if you get stuck there, and can't come back! Arden, I would die without you!"

"Then come with me," I said, taking his hand. "We'll come back. I promise." He looked frightened, so I tried to act brave. We linked arms as we walked into the red light, and held onto each other as tightly as we could as we were lifted off the ground and up into the sky. We were in the same swirling portal that I had traveled through before. This time it seemed longer, as if the force that was propelling us wasn't as strong as it was before. And just as I caught a glimpse of my soft blue couch again, I lost my grip on Link, and I blacked out.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnn!!! Oh no! Is this the end on Link and Arden?! Tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel, for the conclusion to this exciting action-packed thriller.

…Wow, did I just write that? lol! Alright, I'll see you all soon enough, and I hope you don't piss your pants with the suspense I just provided you with. ;o)


	20. Chapter 20

Hey y'all. (No, I'm not from the South, I live in Massachusetts, thankyouverymuch.) Uh…There's not much to say so I'm not going to say anything.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Zelda-related.

*Arden*

When I came to, I felt that the ground underneath me was cold and hard, not at all like the grass in Hyrule field. I opened my eyes, and the dark oak of my floor and smelled the polyurethane that covered the wood. I was home again! I slowly stood up. I was very sore, probably from coming through my T.V. so quickly. Man, that sounds funny. I looked around, thinking for a moment, then remembered Link. Link!!! Holy shit, did I lose him?! I looked over at the television screen. It had the Zelda game on the pause menu. What the fuck?! Was it all a dream? Did I dream that whole thing?! No! I couldn't have! Not in a million years! Did I just fall off the couch and conk my head on the floor? But I didn't really have a headache. I began to panic, and I felt my throat closing in.

"Link?" I called out quietly. There was no answer. I became more panicked. "Link? Link! Where are you?!" No reply. I ran behind my couch, searching frantically for him. "Link!!" I cried. My efforts seemed futile. I ran over and started pulling my bed to the side, to see if he was hiding down there or something. (Alright…it sounds weird, I know. Gimmie a break, okay?! I was nearly hyperventilating!) I called out his name as I searched everywhere. I couldn't believe this was happening. I needed to find him! "Link!" I bellowed, one last time, collapsing onto the bed. I hit something hard, and I heard a muffled groan.

"What?" My heart felt like there was a ton of stones being lifted off of it, and I beamed. I ripped off the pile of blankets and sheets that were in a big heap on my bed, (jeez, I would have made my bed if I had known…)

"Link!" I cried as I saw his face, eyes closed. I guess he was taking a nap or something. But I had woken him up.

"What? What the crap do you…" He opened his eyes. "Whoah…" I smiled. We had made it back, safely, together!! Hey, how come he got to land on my bed, and I had to land on the floor?! Crimety…

"Link! Link, I love you!" I exclaimed, showering him with dozens of kisses. He smiled, and kissed me back. 

"Mmm!! Love you too…" he said, slower and slower as he gazed at the surroundings. "Arden? Wh-where are we?" he stammered, slowly rising to his feet. I sat up straight, and watched him.

"We're at my home…on…Earth…in the United States…in Eastern Massachusetts!" I exclaimed gleefully, jumping up. The boy was shocked. He slowly walked over to the television, and stared at it. 

"Heeeeey…" he said, slowly. "Isn't that my…??" Eek! I ran over and shut the N64 off.

"Come on, Link, I wanna show you around my house!" I exclaimed, grabbing his hand. Then I remembered what we were wearing when my hand grasped the doorknob. 

"Everything is so…oooooh…." he said slowly, peering into my fish tank. 

"Wait!" I exclaimed as he headed towards the door. I closed it quickly. "You can't go out looking like that!" I exclaimed. He looked offended.

"And why not?" he asked, placing a hand on his hip. 

"Er…Link…it's not you…it's just that…if you walk out of my house with a sword and…well…tights…people are going to get scared…"

"They're leggings!!" he cried. I smiled.

"I know I know. But remember the clothes I first wore when I came to Hyrule?"

"Yep."

"That's the kind of clothes we have to wear." His face turned white.

"I have to wear those short shorts and a little tunic and a…a…what did you call that black lace thing…a bra?" he asked, eyes wide. I burst into a fit of laughter.

"No no!! Girls wear those things…guys wear different stuff. Don't worry, babe, I got you covered," I said, taking off my weapons and gear and placing them on the floor in the corner. He did the same, reluctantly, and stood there. I opened my window, and the air that came in was moist and cool, a bit weird for June. I walked into my closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt, and to my dresser for clean a clean bra, and clean socks and underwear. He looked at me, puzzled, as I began to change. He had a sly grin on the whole time, but I was too happy to care, or to pick a fight with him. Once I was finished lacing up my favorite pair of boots, I turned to him.

"Now Link, promise me that you'll stay here until we come back, okay?" I asked, taking his hands and looking into his eyes.

"Wokay," he said, sitting down on the couch.

"Um…you can watch the T.V. if you want," I said pointing to the television before running out the door. I raced down the hall, and as I flew around the corner, I nearly smacked into my personal butler. (I told you, my parents were rich! President and Vice President of their own law firm!!) 

"Excuse me, young miss!" my butler called, straightening out a bit. I laughed.

"Sorry, Jeeves!" I cried. His real name was Hubert, but I called him Jeeves cause of Ask Jeeves. And it pissed him off, too.

"I do wish you'd stop calling me that…" he mumbled, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, sorry, it's your nickname. But I've got no time for chit-chat, must be moving on!" I exclaimed, attempting to pass by. He put his arm in my way.

"If I may say so, miss, you haven't come out of your room for a few days now. Tell me, are you ill?" I looked up at him, confused.

"No…I…uh…" I struggled to come up with an excuse.

"You haven't come out of there any time during the day," he said, his eyebrow raised. "And the door was locked, the whole time."

"Yeah, well, I started this new thing, sleep all day, come out at night. I conducted myself normally, just, when everyone else was sleeping. Gave me some quiet time," I said lying through my teeth.

"Really?" he asked, skeptically.

"Uh….yeah! Completely! It's all the rage in…Morocco…gotta go!" I cried, dashing away from him. I ran down another long hallway and took another corner. I finally reached my cousin Ben's room, (he doesn't live with us, it's his room when he comes to visit), and swung the door open. He was about the same size of Link, I guessed, so I grabbed some of the clothes he kept there, jeans, a couple of nice shirts, boots, boxers, (I couldn't help but giggle stupidly, cause they were glow-in-the-dark), and a hat. (Picture…the Josh Hartnett hat…the one he wears to hide his mug from the press, lol.) I pulled some cash out of my wallet and placed it in his underwear drawer, and a note, and ran back out the way I came. When I walked back into my room, Link was sitting on the couch, staring at the television. It was turned off.

"Oh! Hey, babe!" he called, smiling.

"Hey…" I said, staring at him confusedly. 

"I've been watching the…'Teee Veee,'" he said slowly, enunciating each letter. "But it's pretty boring. All it is is a black box," he said, shrugging. I cracked up, and fell onto my bed. "What?!" he asked, dumbfounded. I laughed harder.

"Link, you have to turn the thing on!" I cried, in hysterics.

"Huh?" he asked, staring at the T.V. I got up and turned it on, and handed him the clicker.

"There you go! See? The television," I said, sitting down next to him. He got this glazed look over his eyes, and was completely mesmerized.

"Holy shit…it's like…a live person but…" His mouth was open so wide that an 18-wheeler could have driven through it.

"Yes, Link, magic television," I said sarcastically. I showed him the up and down channel changer buttons. His eyes lit up as the channels flipped before him. "Here you go bud, go nuts," I said, laughing. He took it, and pressed the two buttons fiercely. "And when you're done with that, get changed, cause we're going out," I said, chucking my cousin's clothes at him. They just hit him, and fell to the floor. Pretty sad. I left him sitting there, watching television, and walked out the door again. I walked downstairs and down another hall, which led to my massive kitchen. I headed to the fridge and grabbed some sodas, and over to the cabinets for chips. When I entered my room again, he was still sitting there. I walked over to the television and turned it off.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Put it back on! Come on! That was the greatest thing I've ever seen!" I smiled. Yeah, it will be, until he sees my car. 

"I know, Linky baby," I teased, "but you need to get changed. I want to show you my world. You got to show me yours, so it's my turn now." He smiled. 

"Okay." He stood and picked the clothes up off the floor. "I have to wear these?" he asked in disgust. I laughed.

"Yes, now, change!"

"With you standing there?" he asked sheepishly. I groaned.

"Link…we've…"

"I know, I know…"

"So what's the problem?!"

"I'm shy…" He blushed. I groaned again, and turned around.

"You happy now?" I barked. 

"Yes," he mumbled. I stood there for about five minutes, and finally he said I could turn around. He looked sloppy. "Jeez, Link," I scolded, walking up to him, "you look shabby!" He smiled like an idiot. I straightened out his shirt and pants, and helped him lace up his boots. Then I removed that weird-ass hat of his and put my cousin's grey hat on him, covering his ears. Little curls peeked out from under the sides of the hat. He was so cute. I kissed him on the forehead.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Much better," I said. "Now come on, let's go!" I exclaimed, yanking him out the door.

Wokay, folks, next chapter will be up whenever. And I actually had this one done on time, I swear! Not my fault I couldn't upload it cause ff.net was down... 


	21. Chapter 21

Hey all, it's been a while. Let's see if I can finish this story up before we all kick off and die, huh?

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, okay? Stop heckling me!!

*Arden*

I pulled my keys out of my bag as Link and I rushed out of the house. I saw him smiling at everyone and everything that we passed, but I pulled him along anyways. I couldn't decide where to take him, probably to the mall or something, because I knew I'd see someone that I knew there, and I could show off my man. Cripes, all the girls that pretend to like me will be jealous…again, muahahaa! Them and their sloppy boyfriends…when I walk by hand-in-hand with Link, they'll be sorry.

"Link, this is my car," I said, walking up to my black Chevy Tahoe. 8 cylinders, leather interior, aww yeah baby!

"Car?!" Link asked, stopping in front of it, completely speechless.

"Yeah, it's kinda like my horse, sorta…only it has the power of many horses, and can go much, much faster," I said, smiling. He reached out and touched it. 

"It's not alive, it's cold."

"Very good. Now," I said, leading him over to the passenger side and opening the door, "get in!"

"Get in?" he asked, afraid it was going to eat him or something.

"Yes, you sit in the seat like this!" I explained, hopping in. I jumped back out. "Now you try." He climbed in and sat down, beaming. "Good boy," I teased. Then I pulled the seatbelt over him. "You wear this, it's called a seatbelt. It could save your life if we get in an accident."

"Accident?" he asked wearily. "But…how?"

"There are other people in cars just like this out there, some bigger, some smaller, and accidents can happen," I said, closing the door. I went around to the driver's side, climbed in, and shut the door.

"But…I don't see any other cars," Link said, furrowing his brow. I put my seatbelt on and started up the engine. He jumped at the sound it made. Boy, I'm gunna miss my baby when I go back to Hyrule. I'll give it to…er…my cousin Ben. He's a good kid, so he can have it. He was the only one that understood my passion for this thing. Who needs a Porsche or a Mustang or a Jaguar when you can have a Chevy? (Yes, they're my favorite cars if you haven't guessed that already. And I would rather have a Chevy than those fancy sports cars, cause I feel a lot safer in them, and cause a lot of them have the same parts. For example, my dad fixed a Rolls-Royce the other day and it had a GMC transmission in it and the owner wouldn't believe it. But I'm getting sidetracked here…)

"But Link, we're not moving yet," I said, grinning evily and putting on my sunglasses. He turned a pale white.

"Moving?" I put the car in drive and pulled out of our massive driveway.

"Holy shit!" Link cried as I began to drive down the road, picking up speed. "This is way better than teeeveeee!!" he exclaimed, gripping the seat. I put the window down for him and he stuck his head out. "Ahhh! So fast!" he screamed, pulling his head in. I couldn't describe the look on his face at that moment if I tried.

"See how there are other drivers Link?" I asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeeeeess…" he said slowly, his head turning back and forth at the trees we passed. I shook my head.

"Never mind. This is my world, and welcome to it." Link smiled at me, and then turned his attention to the buttons on the dashboard. He was pushing the A/C and heat buttons, and it was quite funny watching his reactions as the air blew out at him. He reached over for the radio button.

"NO LINK DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Too late. Jonathan Davis's vocals came blasting through the speakers. I could tell "freak on a leash" wouldn't be one of Link's favorite songs. I turned it down immediately. He was pale white.

"What...was that?" Link asked slowly and quietly.

"My music…I like to turn it up real loud when I'm alone. You know, the kind of music that says that I've arrived…five blocks away," I said, smiling. I turned it up a bit. "Listen to it. It's really great. This band's called Korn." Link listened intently, and after a while, started bobbing his head along with it.

"Very cool. But I'm not touching any more buttons. I'd pee my pants from another shock like that." We drove along quite happily the rest of the way, and once we got to the mall, it was quite hard to find a parking spot. No matter, that meant there would be a lot of people there, which means I get to show off Link. We walked hand-in-hand into the entrance, and Link was astonished at the whole…mall. All the people, all the shops, everything. After we hit a few stores, I spotted a bleach blonde up ahead with a crowd of people. It was Tammi, the bane of my existence since school started. 

"Link, don't smile at those people," I whispered, taking his hand.

"Why?" he asked innocently.

"Just don't, okay?" They were walking towards us, and we were walking towards them. I felt all eyes on us as we passed, and I couldn't help but smirk at the expression on Tammi's face.

"Well, look who we have here! Arden finally got a boyfriend?" she called loudly, earning a few snickers from her group.

"Tammi finally got breast implants?" I shot back, jeering at her fakeness. Everyone gasped. 

"Hmm, yeah, good one. But I gotta hand it to you, he's a hottie, a real stud. Did you hire him just for today?" she taunted. Link turned around with fire in his eyes, stared the bitch down, and leaned down and kissed me, right in front of everyone. I gotta say this was one of the more proud moments of my life. 

"I love Arden, and it makes me appreciate her more after seeing tramps like you out there. So, Tammi, thanks," Link said coldly, taking my hand as we walked away. I was beaming by then, and I squeezed him tight in a hug when we got back to my car.

"Thank you so much Link," I said, holding back tears. "I've wanted to do that my whole life." He smiled down at me. 

"Hey, she deserved it," he replied, getting in the car. I got behind the wheel, and we began to drive home.

"I'm looking forward to our life together," I said, taking one of my hands off the wheel and placing it in his. "Let's go back to Hyrule when we get home," I said slowly.

"You sure about that?" Link asked, furrowing his brow. I nodded.

"Yeah, I have no life here. My life is now with you."

"What about your parents?" Link asked.

"My parents won't be home for another 2 months. So we'll be long gone by then."

"I kinda wanted to meet them," Link said slowly, squeezing my hand.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. No offense, but they wouldn't pay much attention to you and I. They'd be too busy with work and stuff. You know how I told you about all that," I said in a monotone.

"Yeah," he replied. "But still." I nodded, and placed my hand back on the wheel.

"It's better this way," I said, turning onto my street. "Hey, I plan on bringing a lot of my stuff with me, so will you help me pack?" 

"Sure," he said, laughing. Soon we were pulling into my driveway, and I looked at my car…for the last time. "You coming?" Link asked, watching me linger in front of my car.

"Yeah," I said, slowly walking away from it. Then, an idea popped into my head. "Excuse me!" I cried as I ran past him and into the house.

"Hey, wait up!" Link exclaimed, running after me. I ran into my room and dug out my Polaroid camera. "Smile!" I said, snapping a picture of a very confused Link. I handed the picture to him, and he stared at it. "Just wait a minute and it will develop!" I hollered, racing back outside. I took a few pictures of my car, and of my house, and of Jeeves, and of my room and all my stuff. I also grabbed a picture of my parents to take with me, along with all my shampoo and soap and razor and toothbrush. I ran back into my room, where Link was standing. He was staring at his picture, smiling stupidly. God, the kid had a camera in Majora's Mask! Er…can't really tell him that…Well anyways, I dropped what I was holding on my bed and grabbed the biggest duffle bag I owned out of my closet and began throwing all my clothes and personal belongings in it. I managed to fit everything in, and then I grabbed my pillow. I placed it in front of my entertainment center, then took Link by the hand and walked him to my parents' room. I took out a pen and a piece of my mother's most expensive stationary and began to write them a letter.

            _Dear Mom and Dad,_

_            I have left for good, and by the time you read this letter, I will be so far gone that it will be pointless to go after me. Please know that I am in good hands, and I will be safe. For the first time in my life I feel really happy, and for the first time in eighteen years, you two will have the lives you always wanted: a childless one. I have found my true love while traveling to a far off land, and we will be together forever. Please give my car and all the rest of my belongings to Ben; you always loved him more than you loved me. Again, I am sorry that I was never the perfect child that you've always dreamed of having, but I will never forget the way you ignored me my whole life. Don't worry, I'm not holding a grudge against you, and I do love you both, but just know that you will have grandchildren in the future, and you will have no part in their lives because I'm afraid you'll treat them the same way you treated me. I would also suggest leaving your possessions and money to Ben, because he's the only young family member that I know will take care of the business. _

_            Farewell, and enjoy the rest of your lives._

_                        Love, Arden_

I put the pen down and handed it to Link. He read it, and as he did so, his eyebrows furrowed. When he finished, he handed it back to me with a half-smile. I placed it on their desk, and Link gave me a hug.

"That was worded perfectly. Now come on," he said, taking my hand as we left the room. I walked down the hall for the last time, and entered my room for the last time. I turned on the television and the N64, and the game started up. Link wasn't scared or surprised by it for some odd reason, like he knew what it was already. Maybe he did. Soon, the purple swirl began to form on the screen, and I chucked my bag and pillow through it. Then Link and I went in, one after the other, and we went through the purple swirl again. When I opened my eyes again, we were standing in the middle of a field. We were back in Hyrule again.

Alright all, that's it for this chapter. I'm going away for two weeks, so you'll just have to sit tight for a while. The next chapter will be the last one, I think, so get ready. I know, I know, *tears up with the rest of you* this has been a wild ride, and I never imagined actually finishing this story that I began on a sick day while I was home from school. Thank you so much, all of you. Just be patient, and chapter 22 will be up before you know it. 

Toodles! 

~WickedOne


	22. Chapter 22

Hello everyone! I'm really, really sorry that I took so long getting the final chapter up. But before you get mad at me (you probably already are…) let me explain. I went on a 2-week vacation like I said I was going to, but then as soon as I got back from that I had to re-pack my bags and ship off to Canada for a really long weekend (4 or 5 days). I got home last Sunday night, and then the next day band camp started. (Yes, you all may laugh, haha, but it's not like it was on American Pie. Damn that movie. AND I DON'T PLAY THE FLUTE!) That lasted until Saturday, and then my sister's birthday party was on Sunday, and today is Monday, so I'm going to write now, because I actually have the time to. *takes a deep breath* Okay. Here it is, the FINAL CHAPTER! (dun dun dunnnnn)

*Arden*

I looked at Link and he looked at me. Then I looked around the field, noticing that my bags and pillows and crap were all over the place.

"Damn you and your stuff," Link said to me, picking up a t-shirt that had fallen out of my green bag. I laughed.

"Well, if you expect me to live here, you've got to know that I can't live without my stuff," I replied, picking up a near-empty duffle bag. 

"Yeah, right," he said, picking up more of my belongings. We scurried around the field, picking up everything. Link paused in front of something, picked it up, and held it out in front of me.

"When do I get to see you in this number?" he asked, grinning like an idiot. It was a pair of black lace underwear.

"Shut up!" I exclaimed, ripping it from his hands and shoving it in a bag.

"What about this one?" he asked, holding up a pink one this time.

"Give me that!" I exclaimed, yanking it away from him. He started laughing, so I zipped up my now-full bag, and smacked him with it. He just laughed harder, so I smacked him again. Link ran away gleefully, laughing and screaming like a banshee, and I picked up the last of my stuff. When he ran by me again, I chucked half of my belongings at him, and made him carry them.

"I'm so glad you're staying," Link said, bumping me with his hip.

"Me too," I said, bumping him back. "But you know, if we're going to live in that house, it's going to have to be renovated," I said, shifting the weight of the load I was carrying.

"Yeah, I know that," Link replied.

"And you still know that I want to go to college," I asked, crossing the small bridge with him.

"Yeah, I know that, too," he said, "and I'm going to pay for it."

"No you're not," I said. "I'm going to get a job and earn the money."

"In two years, you're going to have enough money to go to school?!" Link asked.

"Two years?"

"Yeah, you usually go to college at age 20 through 22, sometimes 23," Link said.

"Oh, only two year schools?" I asked, thinking.

"Yeah, what other kind of schools are there?" he asked, scoffing a bit.

"Four-year schools, plus graduate school," I said. "That's what we have where I come from."

"You guys work for four years straight?!" he exclaimed, starting up the stairs to Kakariko.

"No, we have summer and spring breaks," I said, following him.

"Ohh, well, we have it all year round for two years here," Link said.

"Alright, I guess that's okay," I said, laughing.

"So what do you have in mind for the house?" he asked once we reached the top of the stairs.

"Something livable," I said, in all seriousness, gazing around my very rural surroundings.

"Yeah, duh," he said, laughing. It was quiet for a minute until we walked up the stairs to our home. Our home. I like the sound of that.

"I love you, Link," I said, putting my stuff down. He placed his load down and turned to me. 

"I love you too, Arden," he said, hugging me. (Oh God…I'm going to throw up…)

"You think we can make this work?" I asked him as he squeezed me tighter.

"I know we can," he said, letting go. I looked up into his face, and he smiled back down at me. He took out his keys and unlocked the door.

"Welcome home," he said as I stepped inside.

So yeah, that's basically my story. Our story. I got to get used to saying "our" from now on. After we moved all my belongings into the house, and after we um...nevermind about that…we set off to Castle Town to hire some workers to re-do our house. We ended up hiring the only carpenters in Hyrule, you know, the ones that run around all the time, not working, (what else?) and they began immediately. We had the downstairs insulated and had more windows put in, and created somewhat of a kitchen for Link and I to work with, and a full bathroom with a tub. We got the water to start running again, (thank God), and actually organized all of Link's books and stuff into a library all around the living area. (I had people go out and create couches for us. So what if I want to live like royalty?!) And the loft was turned into an actual upstairs. There were two bedrooms created, one for Link and I with an enormous bed, and one for future members to our family. We had the house painted white, and to tell you the truth, it actually came out looking quite nice. And the workers didn't even charge that much. But no sooner had we moved in and settled down when a message came from the King, summoning us to the palace on important matters. Turns out there was a war going on in Termina, and that Link was asked to become a head General. (Oh yeah that's my boyfriend oh yeah uh huh go me). The King asked if I wanted to become a nurse or something, which I thought was rather insulting, and I guess Link did too, because he insisted that I would have to head the army right along with him or else he wouldn't go. The King agreed, and we were soon off on Epona and Shadow, (my new jet-black steed), to Termina to fight the forces of Ganondorf's son. Yeah, it turns out that he and one of the Gerudos had a love child. Go figure. I thought they were all gay. So I guess that's it. Right now I'm sitting in a tent, listening to everyone sleep, writing down my story because tomorrow we're going into battle and I want to put this down just incase I don't make it back. But don't be afraid, I have a good feeling I'll be seeing all of you real soon. 

Okay people, that's it!!!!! *Cries* I can't believe it's over!!! I had a good time writing it. And I hope you all liked reading it! Oh my God…I actually finished a story…this has never happened to me before in my life…woohoo! I have a bunch of stories coming up in the future, I'm thinking some Legolas ones, maybe even Spider-Man and Batman! (I know, I'm retarded…) And probably some Josh Hartnett and Orlando Bloom, but I can't put them on this site, I'd have to make my own. *Grumble grumble* And maybe a sequel to this story!!! Oh man, that would be real interesting. So keep checking my name every once in a while to see if I've posted anything new. Thank you so much, all you readers out there, you've made my year!!

Love, WickedOne   

       (eew…I said love…I must be really giddy…)

Love Shouldn't Feel This Way 

©2002 WickedOne


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